


Agent 3: Execution

by ToonThink



Series: Toon Think's Splatoon Universe [4]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: Crime Drama, Crime Thriller, F/F, Some lemons later on, Vigilante, Violent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-04
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-31 11:43:17
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 28
Words: 121,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20114548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToonThink/pseuds/ToonThink
Summary: Ever since the days of Octo Valley, vigilante Agent 3 has been on a long quest to protect Inkopolis from crime for the NSS. One day, however, when she finds herself physically broken, with no one to trust, and with damaged morals, she'll end up venturing on a personal mission to right the wrongs of her own past, and ultimately, to secure the fate of all of Inkopolis.





	1. The Vigilante

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, I'm finally back to writing a story with actual plot, that's crazy. This is my second main story on this account, after New Squidbeak Splatoon: Uprising, so I'm excited to get into it.
> 
> Anyway, I suppose I should start off with a warning. If you couldn't tell already from the M rating, this is not a story for kids. This story is basically my excuse to practice writing more adult topics, such as graphic violence, sex, deeper topics, whatever. This is a violent story, and there'll be a few lemon scenes here and there as well (yes I'm trying to practice, don't ask), so be aware of that when reading.
> 
> Just so everyone is aware, as I've mentioned before, this story is in continuity with NSS:OD and any other stories that fit into that universe. It's not that you have to read those to understand this story, but I'm just trying to make it clear that I consider all my Splatoon stories to be a part of a shared universe of sorts (with NSS:U being in its own alternate timeline of said universe). So, if anyone even cares, yes, these stories have ties and references to each other for you to keep an eye out for if you want. Anyway, let us hop in.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A gang in Inkopolis is challenged by the ruthless vigilante Agent 3.

**Lishawn County**

The sun was just barely beginning to set over Lishawn County. It was a beautiful, peaceful area, with green fields, a few small towns, and many quiet residential neighborhood areas. It was considered by many to be the perfect area to grow up in, and suited many families well.

Today, however, the peaceful air had been broken by a more sinister feel, as large huffs of smoke and sparks rose skyward. The alarms of multiple fire trucks broke the silence as they rolled into one particular neighborhood, followed by a number of police cars and a few ambulances as well. They each surrounded a particular house, which had been lit on fire and was currently burning down; the Murdock residence, home to a family of four. The firemen quickly exited their trucks, shouting at each other as they began combating the fire in vain.

As time went on, the sun set further, and as such the sky grew darker. Despite their efforts, the house had mostly burned down, with very little to be salvaged, as well as two reported casualties inside. The medics had already recovered the corpses, rolling them away on stretchers.

One Inkling, a little girl, sat near the ambulances, but a police officer had her turned away so that she couldn't see the corpses. She wasn't even near 14 yet, and as such wasn't quite at her humanoid form, but she was getting there; her entire body was a nice shade of orange to match her usual color of ink.

Once the corpses were out of sight, the police officer got down to his knee to get down to her level. "Hey… I don't think we've properly met… What's your name?"

The Inkling, who currently had tears flowing down her face, looked at him. "…Jessica."

"Jessica? Well… My name is Flint." He said with a warming smile. He extended his arm to shake her tentacle. "Nice to meet you."

"...I want my parents."

Flint frowned. "…I know. I know. But… you know what?"

Jessica looked down.

"...Everything's gonna be alright. You listening? Everything's gonna be ok. We're here for you. Ok?"

She didn't respond, only shedding more tears. Only after a bit did she speak again. "…What about Daniel?"

Flint looked at another nearby officer, who gravely shook his head. He turned back to Jessica. "I, uh… Daniel's gonna be going away for a little bit."

"To where?"

"He's just… got some stuff to take care of. You know? You know he's a bit older than you, so… think of it as grown-up stuff."

"I want to see Daniel…" She whined.

"I know. I know…" He realized that despite the heat coming from the burning home, Jessica was shivering. He took off his jacket. "Here…" He wrapped it around her shoulders, letting her wear it. "Comfy?"

Jessica didn't respond again, instead looking around the area. From a bit of a distance, he was able to see a blue Inkling, who was just a few years older than her, being questioned by police. She started to step forward. "Daniel…"

"Hey, hey hey hey…" Flint said, grabbing her arm. "That's not a good idea for right now…"

"I want to see him!" She yelled, fighting back a little, but Flint kept a firm grip on her tentacle.

Daniel looked across the area right at her, and for a moment, the two locked eye contact. But Jessica saw something different in those eyes at this point. It was anger, and hatred. Maybe a hint of sadness.

Jessica could only watch as a couple police officers took Daniel and sat him down in the back of a police car, before driving away.

* * *

**Several Years Later**

**Inkopolis**

**1:30 AM**

Moonlight pierced the otherwise dark and quiet streets of Inkopolis in the dead of night, although the occasional sound of passing cars could still be heard, along with car honks and maybe some Inklings talking.

Floating alone near some low rooftops above the city, yet obscured from public view, was a large floating disc platform, one of Octarian technology. A lone figure sat still on top of it, knelt down and outlined in said moonlight. A torn cape that was attached to her neck flowed silently in the wind behind her back, a large **3 **painted on it. She wore her usual Hero Jacket around her upper body, and her glowing Hero Headset covered her ears, which just barely illuminated her face.

The figure, by the name of Jessica Murdock, silently went to check on her Hero Shot. It was a bit scratched up, which she supposed was to be expected with how long she'd been using it for, but still perfect usable. Ready for combat, as always. She had developed a special attachment to this weapon, having grown to know and feel it like the back of her hand. Mentally preparing herself for action, she slipped on her recently acquired night-time goggles, which had an Ammo Knights logo printed on the side.

The goggles activated, emitting a soft green light. From Jessica's point of view, the goggles began displaying a green 3D UI system, which featured a variety of information stats, from basic weather and temperature information to her own body's vital stats. Better yet, though, the goggles gave her the ability to see heat signatures of any living creature, in such a way that she could see people through walls. Sure enough, in the building in front of her, she could see many different people walking around, gathering weapons as they prepared for an assault. She stood up and took a step forward to get a better view.

She took her sweet time to monitor the situation, mentally mapping out a plan for herself. Once she was ready, she silently slipped off the goggles, dropping them to the side. She took a deep breath as she grabbed her grapple hook from her belt, taking a moment to aim. Then, suddenly, the hook that was attached launched forward as she pulled the trigger, perfectly attaching itself to the roof of the building she had been watching.

* * *

Inside, the Octarian gang that owned the building was already in a frenzy. Many were marching around, gathering their weapons in preparation, yelling at each other in panic.

One Octoling made her way past the small army of people, going up some stairs to a small office, knocking on the door. She patiently waited for a response, but was only met with subtle kissing noises. Angrily, she knocked on the door harder this time.

"What is it!?" A female voice could be heard back.

"It's important."

A groan could be heard, and the Octoling, by the name of Alexis, finally opened the door. She was wearing general Octarian military gear, and didn't look happy at all at the interruption. "Better make it fast."

She sighed and pushed past her, entering the small office. Another female Octoling, who was completely naked to her dismay and was sitting on Alexis' desk in the center of the room, giggled and winked at her. She ignored her, turning back to Alexis. "While you were up here fucking the Underdog's second-in-command… the rest of us were getting ready for a potential upcoming attack."

"An attack? By who?" Alexis said, eyeing her somewhat threateningly.

"...We got word that the New Squidbeak Splatoon found us and that they're coming here tonight."

"Hm… the Splatoon…" She went over to the desk, pouring herself a glass of whiskey. "...I don't know what you're so scared of, I mean, we knew they'd find us sooner or later. And we've prepared for it."

"It gets worse… ma'am… they're sending… her…"

She turned around to face her again, glass in hand. "…Agent 3…"

She nodded.

Alexis turned to the naked Octoling sitting on her table. "Ayesha, dearest. I think you should go. Mr. Ward will need his second-in-command when this is over. Can't risk losing you."

Ayesha just grinned a little, suddenly leaning over to kiss her. "Aw, hun… I suppose I'll have to see you later then…" She rolled off the table and began pulling on her own standard Octarian military gear.

Alexis turned back to the other Octoling. "Like I said… we've prepared for this. We can take her."

"With all due respect… I don't think you're realizing the whole situation. Do you know how many gangs she has single-handedly taken down?"

"Our gang is doomed. Maybe. But… she'll never get to the Underdogs. We have safeguards in place for things like this."

"But, ma'am… our gang. Agent 3 will tear us apart."

"Yes… Yes, she will." She smiled a little, walking up to her. "But… at the end of the day… we fight for the Underdogs, and the future world order they will give this city. This was never about us…"

"Ma'am…"

"Don't get me wrong, we'll still fight her. We'll fight her to the death. Maybe if we're lucky, she'll even die at our feet. But…" She pulled out a knife. "…Don't expect such a victory."

"...So that's it? No… evacuations, no real plan, no anything?"

Alexis just stepped away from her, going back to her desk. "Why don't you go see if you can hold her off if you're still so concerned?"

She stared at her with a worried expression, as a now fully dressed Ayesha walked up to her. "Aww, honey… I know you'll do great." She delicately rubbed her fingers down her cheek as if she was trying to be comforting. "Best of luck…" She giggled as she suddenly threw a knife at a nearby window, shattering it, before she went over and jumped out without another word.

The Octoling, not sure what to do, decided to just prepare her weapons before Agent 3 would get there, hurrying out of the room.

* * *

A small pack of Octolings within the gang, who had heard something in the upper floors of the building, headed up the stairs with their weapons pointed high to investigate.

"Shoot on sight." The leader of the small pack commanded as they entered the highest floor. "Any intruder does not get past us. Spread out."

The pack nodded and did as he said, spreading out throughout the area, checking for any real signs of an intruder. They pointed their weapons all around as the searched the different rooms, carefully checking around corners and watching their backs. For the most part, they were coming out empty handed.

"There's no one up here." Someone eventually said.

The pack leader sighed. "…They could be hiding. Keep looking."

As they were talking, a single Octoling wandered toward the back of the area, walking into a small room with his weapon pointed high. Seeing that it was dark in this room, he turned on the light on his flashlight as he casually looked around.

Suddenly, to his fear, the door to the room closed behind him. He turned around, pointing his weapon. "…Guys…?"

Now a little bit nervous, he looked around frantically, but was unable to see anyone. With his breathing heavy, it took him a moment to notice, but eventually, he looked to the window, seeing that it had been smashed open. Immediately alarmed, he looked up.

Stealthily hidden in the girders in the corner of the room, was an orange-haired female Inkling staring right back at him, her Hero Shot in her hand.

"Oh, shi-" was all he could say as the girl suddenly swooped down, her cape soaring behind her.

From the outside of the room, all of the other Octolings could hear his panicked scream and then a crash, followed by silence. Everyone on the floor immediately turned in that general direction, and slowly began closing in.

The pack leader was up front and thus reached the door first, reluctantly putting his hand on the doorknob. Slowly, he creaked the door open.

Suddenly, an Autobomb was tossed at his feet as he opened the door further. And it was no ordinary Autobomb; it was an improved one, with a much stronger blast radius. Giving him no time to react, it quickly detonated, and immediately splatted him and multiple of the Octolings that were behind him with lots of orange ink.

The survivors were immediately sent into a panic. "SOMEONE'S HERE!" One person screamed, but he was unable to do much about it, as the Inkling soon came out of hiding and effortlessly took them on.

* * *

The chaos from upstairs could be heard from throughout the building, and everyone on the lower levels immediately prepared their weapons. They listened nervously to the chaos, and soon, the area fell to silence all together.

"...They'll be coming after us next." One person said.

"...So block off the door. Make sure they don't get past." Another suggested.

Multiple Octolings nodded and began barricading the door with tables and whatever else they could find lying around, as the whole room then stood back and nervously pointed their weapons at the door.

One person smiled. Whoever was coming was heavily outmatched. "…We got you now, asshole."

"Shh!" Someone else hissed.

Moments passed, and they received nothing but silence. Everyone maintained their defensive positions, but began losing hope that they were even on their way. Some people even began lowering their weapons.

Eventually, one person gave up all together with a sigh. "…All clear."

Suddenly, something slammed through the window and landed in the middle of the room, and before anyone could react, another Autobomb exploded, taking out several of the Octolings in the middle of the room. Other Octolings just outside the blast radius were knocked down by the force, with some people dropping their weapons.

Jessica herself, her cape once again soaring behind her, suddenly swung in through the shattered window with her grapple hook, letting go and landing squarely in the middle of the room.

"Shit!" Someone screamed, standing back up and pointing his Charger straight at her head. He opened fire without hesitation, but Jessica easily dodged the attack, rolling over to him and then suddenly landing a clean drop sweep kick to knock him off his feet. With her Hero Shot, she landed a couple shots directly at his head, splatting him at her feet.

More Octolings began to run in. "She's here! Kill her!" One person yelled out, as he ran alongside a few others to attack the invader. They all raised their weapons in preparation to fire at her, but they were too slow, as they were all quickly gunned down by her opposing Hero Shot. She was fast, and everyone who attempted to run at her were quickly gunned down as she ruthlessly splatted everyone in her way, covering her in her own orange ink.

A single Octoling managed to sneak up behind her with a knife, attempting to lunge at the back of her head, but Jessica heard this and swiftly grabbed her by the wrist in one turn. The Octoling grunted in surprise.

Angrily, she ripped the knife out of her hand and then, violently, slashed at it, quickly disembodying it entirely. She screamed as she went to cover up his large open wound, but Jessica brought her Hero Shot directly to her face and opened fire, quickly splatting her.

As much as she liked the knife she just acquired, she decided to discard it, suddenly throwing it with great accuracy into an approaching Octoling's throat. He grabbed at it and attempted to pull it out, gagging, as he was also quickly splatted by the vigilante.

"Kill her!" They continued screaming as around four different thugs cornered her by the nearby wall. Overpowered, she was slammed into the wall, grunting to herself in pain as they rammed into her. She braced herself as she watched them preparing their weapons, but didn't stand around. Resorting to physical attacks, she used her fists to quickly disarm them with hard punches, but was unable to fight off all four.

One punch she received landed straight on her face, disorienting her. Thrown off, she grabbed her cheek, stepping back and hitting her head on the wall behind her. "Ah!" She screamed.

"We have her! Finish her!"

She was welcomed by a large flurry of punches from the thugs, which she had no choice but to suffer through. Gasping in pain, she waited for the criminals to tire out, before she found an opening to abruptly kick at their knees.

Now free from her trapped position, she once again gripped her Hero Shot and quickly turned to splat three of them in a row. The one who survived angrily dived at her, disarming her completely as her Hero Shot fell to the ground. This one was a tough one. With a war cry, he unleashed his own flurry of punches, targeting her face, but this time, she was better prepared to counter most of them.

Swiftly, she punched him once in the chest, which instantly stopped him and knocked him back. Then, now pissed off, she grabbed at his head, and whammed him into the wall as hard as she could. As he collapsed, she took a second to catch her breath as she knelt down and grabbed her Hero Shot. However, the gang wasn't done. She sighed in frustration as she heard more Octolings frantically run throughout the area, taking a second to check up on her weapon to see if it had been damaged.

"Use the grenades!" She could hear someone yelling somewhere. She only realized it when the thugs began to close in on her, but they weren't talking about ink based grenades. They were preparing to light the whole damn area on fire. She grabbed a stray metal tube that was lying about, and when an Octoling threw his grenade at her, she swatted it back with the tube like a baseball. Then, grasping the tube, she proceeded to beat at the remaining people with big angry swings.

The Octoling who threw the grenade panicked as he watched it fly back to his feet, attempting to run away, but the attempt was in vain as he was caught almost directly in the center of the explosion, ripping him into shreds. Jessica ignored the explosion, continuing to beat at the remaining criminals until they were knocked out. One Octoling successfully grabbed it, however, stopping her in her tracks. She dropped the tube in favor of a knife she hid in her belt, and when the Octoling attempted to attack her, she suddenly tripped her in such a way that she fell forward. As she landed on the ground, she quickly drove the knife through her head, instantly killing her as she went completely limp.

Noticing that the area was much more quiet now, Jessica stopped to take a breath, groaning as she took a seat by the wall. All around her was a mess of splatted ink, body parts, and unconscious/dead people she took down. At this point, she was used to it, but it still tired her out, and she always need a break in the immediate aftermath. She took a moment, but it didn't take long for her to realize she wasn't done. Not only did she hear more Octolings throughout the building, but she still hadn't accomplished her goal. With a grunt, she stood up, gripping her Hero Shot.

* * *

Alexis was hanging out in her office still, sharpening her knife as she listened to the chaos from outside, when she heard the door slam open. Still holding her knife, she turned around to face the intruder, leaning against the desk casually. "Hello, Agent 3. I've been expecting you." She said with a slight smile.

Jessica closed the door behind her and locked it, preventing any remaining Octolings from getting in, before she turned to face her. "And I've just been dying to meet you."

"You came all the way out here just to take down our small little gang… Hm… Honestly… I'm a bit touched. Such an honor to be taken down by an infamous vigilante like you."

"Thing is, I couldn't give any less of a shit about your low-life gang. You know why I'm really here." She suddenly slammed Alexis down on her own desk, holding her down and pointing her Hero Shot right at her face. "I want everything you know about the Underdogs."

"Right… the Underdogs…" She sighed. "…What do you know, anyway?"

"I know that they're dangerous, yet they're ghosts who's escaped the Splatoon's radius for so long. I also know that you've been in an alliance with them." She shoved the Hero Shot closer to her face. "Where do I find them?"

"You must be crazy if you think I'm going to tell you that easily…"

She sighed. "…You're right. I maybe got my hopes up." She suddenly whammed her across the face and then returned to her grip. "But I'm not here to play games with you."

Alexis giggled. "Is that really the only reason why you came here? Huge waste of time…"

"Not so much if I at least get the satisfaction of knocking your face in."

"Aw, don't worry… If you wanted a good time, I can provide." Suddenly, she managed to break free of her grip, knocking her Hero Shot out of her hand. Jessica grunted as she fell back a little, and watched as Alexis came after her with her knife.

She was just barely able to dodge her first swing, but she managed to grab her arm before she got another attempt, knocking the knife out of her hand. She kicked her in the stomach, knocking her back.

Alexis flew back into the table, but just smiled and got back up, engaging her in a fist fight. She wasn't actually that bad at it, managing to keep Jessica on her toes for a good while. But ultimately, Jessica was stronger and more experienced, and Alexis wasn't able to do too much against her.

Eventually, Jessica managed to knock her down entirely, causing her to fall awkwardly on her stomach. Defeated, Alexis gave up and rolled over to her back, inching toward the wall, her mouth bleeding a little.

"Stay down, asshole." Jessica sighed, standing at her feet.

Alexis groaned. "You just don't know when to give up… Going after the Underdogs is a dead end… You'll never find them… Only if they want you to…"

"Guess I'll have to beg then." She said sarcastically.

"The Underdogs have been leading terrorism in Inkopolis for a few years now mostly undetected… they're the best of the best."

"So am I." Jessica muttered, gritting her teeth.

Alexis laughed. "Is that what you think? You're nothing… you're just… a poor Inkling who thinks she can control crime in this city…" She laughed again. "The Splatoon is nothing… Your entire god damn race is nothing… pathetic…"

"Tell me… about the Underdogs…" Jessica hissed. "Or I will make your last moments a living hell…"

"...You're not getting it from me…" Suddenly, Alexis pulled out an extra knife that was hidden in her belt, and stabbed herself directly in the chest. Jessica opened her mouth in shock, but no sound came out. Alexis grunted. "…I-I told you… it's a dead end…"

Jessica could only watch as Alexis began bleeding furiously from both her chest wound and mouth, choking on it and slowly turning pale.

She slumped further down the wall with a last weak laugh. "…The Octarians… never… really… lose…" With her last words, she went even paler as she went limp. Her head fell forward, more ink still drooling from her mouth and spilling onto her chest.

Jessica closed her eyes with a frustrated sigh as she stepped away from her corpse. She went over to the other corner of the room where her Hero Shot landed after she lost it, picking it up, as she listened closely to more thugs making noise throughout the building.

She took a last look at Alexis' corpse as she pulled out a small remote, pressing a small button. A few moments later, her floating platform stopped by the window, and she smashed it open, stepping through and onto it. She pressed the button again, and the platform began floating away with her on it.

She looked out to the city with a sigh as the platform took her away. Another mission failure in an uncomfortably long line of recent mission failures. Seeing no other options left, she relaxed as the platform took her home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just gonna end off the chapter by saying that I absolutely appreciate any comments you guys send in. If you have anything to say about my story and my shitty writing, please, take a couple minutes to write a comment, they're incredibly helpful. My motivation with writing can be a bit all over the place and the support really helps keep it afloat. Huge thank you to anyone who has been reading all of my work I've published as well, it means a lot to me that people are even willing to even sit through it. Anyway... I don't have much else to say at the moment, so, see you next chapter.


	2. Long Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica reunites with an old family member.

**The Next Morning**

**Jessica's Apartment**

Jessica's eyes fluttered open as she heard her phone vibrate. She was exhausted, and yet she had been unable to get good sleep all night. She was still bruised from the events of last night, and was thus in lots of pain.

Groaning, she threw the covers off her and picked up her phone, answering the call of whoever was calling her. She lazily put it up to her ear. "Hello?" She said with an angry tone in her voice.

_"Hello, young lady." _It was the voice of Cap'n Cuttlefish.

"Shit…" She sat up in the bed, quickly dropping her angry tone. "Hey, Cuttlefish. I'm surprised you remembered how to call me…"

A chuckle could be heard. _"I surprise myself sometimes as well. I was just going to ask if I can come over and do a mission recap? I heard you finally returned home."_

"Oh… yeah, you can come over."

_"Excellent. See you in a bit, young lady." _The line went dead as he hung up.

Jessica hung up as well and slipped out of bed, groaning in pain. Slowly, she went to slip on some clothes above the underwear she slept in, and then went to her kitchen. This was the first time she had slept at her own apartment in a few weeks thanks to her Agent 3 missions, but was finally able to relax for now.

It was a small kitchen she had to work with, but it was comfortable to her. Lazily, she poured herself a bowl of cereal and waited for Cuttlefish to arrive. Eventually, she heard a somewhat silent and weak knock at the door, and quickly went to answer it.

"Hey, young lady." Cuttlefish said as he let himself in.

"Hey." She let him pass and then closed the door.

Cuttlefish went and sat down on her cheap couch, setting his cane down. "So… did you try the new goggles?"

Jessica nodded. "Yeah, I did. They were actually pretty useful." She picked them up from the counter and looked at them. "…I'm guessing from the Ammo Knights logo that these are from Sheldon."

"And Marina. They've been working together on a lot of the new Splatoon gear ever since she joined."

Jessica nodded and tossed the goggles aside. She decided to turn the conversation right to the mission recap he was there for, as she leaned against the wall. "Mission last night was a bust. Alexis is dead, and I assume now the gang is just gonna liquidate without her." She looked down. "…They were the last lead we had on the Underdogs. Now we're shit out of luck and out of options."

"...I know. Has me a bit worried, to be honest…" He sighed. "I've never seen a terrorist organization quite like the Underdogs. So dangerous and yet so hidden…"

"...I'm sorry… I should've done better…"

"Hey. There's no need to be sorry. You've done your best your entire run as Agent 3, and honestly, you have yet to have someone else in the Splatoon live up to that. I still can't tell you how proud of you I am."

"...I know… It's just… this job… it gets to me sometimes, you know?"

He nodded. "I get that."

"...I've been so dedicated to the role ever since I followed you down that storm drain. I've put in training… and lots of time… and the city is a bit safer because of it. I get that. But sometimes… I just want a life of my own. Without all the… vigilante bullshit."

"I used to have the mindset back in the war. With the original Squidbeak Splatoon. I would've traded in all the heroism for a normal life." He shook his head. "…But not anymore. As I've gotten older, I've just accepted that… it's who I am."

"...This is who I am, too. I mean… I would be nothing without the cape."

"You are one of the most skilled fighters I have ever met over my entire long life. And your bravery is unmatched. With all that talent you have, you would be something without the cape, and I know it."

She just lightly shook her head no. "Thank you, but…I don't know… I've dedicated a lot of my life to this."

Cuttlefish stared at her for a few moments. "…There's something different in your voice today… Regret? Guilt?"

She sighed. "…Maybe a little."

"Guilt to what?"

"Just… some of the things I do…"

He nodded. "…It's a part of the job… it's something I had to live with in a war as well."

"I don't know… I've been thinking back to… you know… Octo Valley. And I can't help but think that… maybe what we were doing was wrong."

"You did what you were supposed to do. The people the Splatoon go up against… they all made their choices. And yes, we make a lot of hard decisions in this line of work, but at the end of the day, we do what we do to protect the innocent. There's no shame in that."

She leaned her head against the wall, sighing a bit to herself. "…Maybe that doesn't change what I've done…"

"Hey… look at me…"

She did so.

"...You're a good person, young lady. I believe that with all my hearts. And if you want to retire… I'll still support you."

She smiled just a little and shook her head. "I don't plan on retiring… Not yet, at least. I mean, hey… I may not enjoy this life, but like I said, it's who I am now. Plus… I'm pretty damn good at it."

He chuckled. "Yes. Yes you are." He picked up his cane and stood up, going over to hug her. "I love you, young lady…"

She calmly returned the hug. "Love you, too…"

They held the embrace for a few moments, and then, Cuttlefish eventually backed off, still cane in hand. "Now… There was something I wanted to talk with you about. Something to show you."

She looked at him curiously. "What?"

He smiled a little. "Walk with me."

* * *

Soon enough, they walking on the sidewalk through the city, Jessica casually following Cuttlefish to their destination. Due to Cuttlefish's generally old age, he walked a bit slowly, but Jessica maintained her patience. "…Where are we going?" She eventually asked.

"Somewhere familiar."

Eventually, they arrived at the incredibly recognizable Inkopolis Plaza, a place that Jessica hadn't been to in years. It wasn't nearly as populated as it was back in a day, because of how everyone had moved to the Square for the most part, but there were still Inklings and maybe some Octolings hanging around the area. She looked around, nostalgic memories flowing in. "I remember this place…"

"Yeah?"

A small grin etched on Jessica's face as she looked around. "…I was so innocent back then, wasn't I?"

"You were, admittedly, a lot more enthusiastic back then too."

She playfully rolled her eyes, but eventually returned to her more stone-cold attitude. "So, uh… what are we doing here?"

He looked at her. "Oh, this wasn't the destination." He pointed his cane to the manhole that was in the area. "That… is where we are headed."

She instantly caught on and nodded, as she followed him in.

* * *

Soon, they came out from the sewer and plopped out the other end in Octo Valley. This place was a bit more familiar to her, just because she had been here more often through the last few years. "…Been a while since I took the Plaza route."

"It has, hasn't it?" He walked over to his shack, which currently had a bunch of papers on it with information regarding what little they knew about the Underdogs. "Thought you'd enjoy the walk down memory lane."

Jessica herself went over the shack, looking over the items scattered over it and analyzing them. Of course, they didn't really have anything on them that they didn't already know.

"...For the past few weeks we've been stuck with this minimal information on the Underdogs." Cuttlefish sighed. "But… what I wanted to tell you, is that… you were wrong. We have one more lead. And it may just be the key to finding them."

Jessica looked at him. "What is it?"

Suddenly, a blue-ink male Inkling popped out from behind the shack, who Jessica looked at. He had a simple top-knot hairstyle.

Cuttlefish smiled a bit. "Agent 3, I'd like you to meet the newly recruited Agent 9."

Jessica stared at the newcomer, recognizing that there was a familiar air to him. She definitely knew him, but whoever he was, she doubted she had seen him in a good several years. Slowly, however, it came to her. Her eyes widened a little.

"Otherwise known as Daniel Murdock." Daniel said, going up to shake her hand.

Jessica hesitated for a moment, but then shook it. "…Jessica Murdock." She looked him up and down. "Oh my god… It's been…"

"Several years. I know…" He nodded a bit.

Jessica gulped as she just stared at him, every once in a while looking back at Cuttlefish in disbelief.

"…There's a lot we have to catch up on…" Daniel sighed.

Cuttlefish nodded with a smile. "I'll leave you guys to it."

* * *

**Later That Day**

**A Diner in Inkopolis**

"Where you been?" Jessica said, somewhat threateningly. "I mean… all these years have passed and I haven't even heard a peep from you."

Daniel just awkwardly sipped his drink, staring at her. "…To be fair, I haven't really heard anything from you either."

"I've been busy."

"So have I. Well… maybe not busy, necessarily, but… certainly distracted." He looked her up and down a little, almost is if he was analyzing her. "Look at you, though. …The infamous Agent 3. Hidden protector of Inkopolis."

Jessica rolled her eyes a little, looking down.

"You know I see you on the news a lot."

"Like I said, I've been busy."

He nodded, and they fell into silence as their food arrived. Daniel dug in, but Jessica wasn't quite in the mood, instead staring at him.

"...Why are you back…?" Jessica eventually asked.

He looked up at her.

"After all this time… after… the fire…" Her voice broke just a little bit as she had to fight back tears. "I haven't seen you since and now you just show up here…"

Daniel set aside his food, leaning back in his seat and thinking carefully about what he was going to say next. He decided to first explain where he had been. "…After the fire, well, as you know, I was arrested. I was in a juvenile detention center until I was 14."

She shook her head in disapproval as a single tear escaped her eye. She looked away a little.

"...Ever since, it's just been a battle with my mental health. My… issues."

She scoffed a little. "And you didn't think to contact me even once?"

He sighed. "…I didn't think you wanted to see me."

"That doesn't answer what you're doing back here."

"...Because I've been following the Splatoon ever since the Great Zapfish went missing the first time. Public never knew about your little team, but I was smart enough to follow you. Team of… popstars, weapon designers, and random people off the street."

She stared at him. "…How? It's a secret group."

"I followed the clues."

"...You've been keeping tabs on me."

He didn't respond, silently answering the question.

She shook her head in disbelief. "…God, Daniel…"

"Your Cuttlefish friend caught onto me and came up to me one day. He told me he was impressed by my skills in finding you, eventually found out about how I'm related to you, and, recently, recruited me."

"...And that's it? Now, you're just… back? Just like that?"

"...Just like that…"

She shook her head in disbelief again. "Probably should've stayed away."

"...Probably. But I've been looking for a chance at redemption ever since the fire. I…" He frowned, looking down. "…I thought this could be that chance."

"Whatever…" She slid her food aside, standing up. "It was… nice seeing you again, but this is a bit out of left field for me, so I'm just gonna…" She didn't bother finishing the sentence, just walking out.

"Jessica!" He called out, but Jessica had already left. He quickly paid for the food and then followed her out to the sidewalk. "Jessica!"

"We'll talk another day!" She called back.

He groaned. "There was something else I was going to tell you!"

"You've told me enough!"

"Don't you wanna hear about the Underdogs!?"

,She instantly stopped, slowly turning around.

"...The Splatoon isn't the only organization I've been following." With Jessica still stopped, he walked up to her. "…I know that you've been following them, and yet you've been having trouble even finding them."

"...How are you…?" She tried to say, stopping mid-sentence. "…They're ghosts…"

He smiled a little. "I can assure you, they're not. They're just people. Flawed people." He walked up to her. "And I've already found them."


	3. Invulnerable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica infiltrates an Underdogs base in order to steal their data from them.

**The Next Day**

**Jessica's Apartment**

Daniel and Cuttlefish were silently sitting on the couch, Daniel rapidly typing away on his laptop, as they waited for Jessica to get ready in the other room.

"...Are you nervous, Agent 9?" Cuttlefish eventually asked, breaking the silence.

He stopped typing and turned to him. "…About what?"

"About the mission."

"No. Why would I be? It's Jessica's mission."

"Well… perhaps just joining the Splatoon, then."

He shook his head. "No. I'm not nervous."

"Well…" He sat up. "I can tell you're nervous about something."

"...What makes you say that?"

"You just… have this look your eye. It's the same look I get from Agent 3 from time to time."

"Why? Are you nervous?"

"Me? Not at all…" He smiled a little, leaning back. "I used to get nervous… all the time, especially back during the war. But nowadays… things tend to just work out, and I've gotten used to that. Agent 3 has a… way of making that happen."

"Hm…" Daniel thought to himself.

"You've got nothing to be worried about, son." He leaned over and patted his shoulder. "You're in good hands. And you're already being a huge help."

He didn't say anything, just nodding in response.

Eventually, Jessica suddenly came out of her room, in her full Hero Outfit, with her Hero Shot and some other gear strapped to a belt. Daniel stood up and looked at her, admiring the outfit for a moment. "Wow… looks even cooler in person…"

"Not bad, huh?" Jessica said casually, grabbing her night vision goggles and platform remote from the counter.

"I'm just curious, though… have you ever seen The Inkredibles?"

Jessica just looked at him with a bit of a confused and annoyed expression. "Huh?"

"I mean… you know… the 'no capes' rule?"

She looked back at her cape, and then went back to what she was doing, rolling her eyes. "I don't really watch cartoons."

"Alright then…"

"You remember the mission?"

"Yeah…" She then grabbed a portable hard drive from the counter, holding it up for them to see. "Break into the Underdogs base Daniel provided the coordinates for and download everything we can from their database onto this hard drive. Complete stealth mission, don't get caught. By anyone." She repeated.

Cuttlefish smiled. "You're gonna do great. As always."

"It's the first step to putting this thing behind us… first real opportunity we've gotten at stopping these assholes in weeks, so I'm sure as hell not gonna screw it up." She went over to the window, opening it.

Daniel noticed that she was preparing to jump out several stories up. "Um… door's that way." He said, pointing.

"I know." Without another word, she leaped out, her cape flowing behind her. Daniel quickly went to look, craning his head down to see where she had landed, but was quickly met by Jessica suddenly reappearing by the window, standing on her floating platform.

"...Now you're just showing off." He said.

"I'll be back in a bit."

"Are you sure you're gonna be alright, sis? I mean… these are the Underdogs we're talking about. They're probably the most dangerous Octarian terrorists to come to Inkopolis."

She scoffed a little. "Please… I'm invulnerable…" She slipped on her goggles. "Once I'm back, they're as good as done." She piloted the platform away, leaving Daniel to watch as it left.

He turned back to Cuttlefish, who was still smiling under his beard. "That never gets old…" He said with a chuckle.

* * *

**Secret Underdogs Facility**

Ayesha was suddenly slammed against the wall with her feet dangling above the floor, giggling, as the Octoling soldier that currently had her pinned quickly plunged in and out of her. She greedily gripped his neck and back with a moan, letting him keep full control. She was wearing her usual Octarian gear, or at least the top part of it, as the pants were missing.

After letting the guy have his fun for a bit, she suddenly used her hands to push herself away from the wall, shoving him down and resting on top of him. She teasingly slipped out her tongue, wriggling it like a snake just above his mouth, but didn't quite let him touch it, instead starting to aggressively bounce up and down on his length, wrapping her fingers around his throat a little.

Eventually, the Octoling suddenly twitched and moaned as he came inside her, and while she climaxed as well, she barely even reacted. She climbed off of him, and as he relaxed, she giggled and rubbed his cheek just barely with her fingers. "Aw, hun… you're not bad at that… you could maybe be a great replacement for Alexis…"

Personally satisfied, he just stared up at her with a bit of a grin.

"But do you really wanna satisfy me, babe? I mean… there's one more thing I would like to do…" She suddenly said, grinning back while licking her own lips.

He nodded greedily. "…I-I'll do anything for you…"

She giggled again. "I knew you'd want to, babe… you're special…" She pulled out a knife from her top.

He noticed, and quickly changed his mind. "W-Wait… uh… what are we doing…?"

"Shh…" She suddenly jammed it into his neck, getting a pained and surprised grunt out of him. She leaned down, whispering into his ear. "If there's one thing in this world that's more satisfying than cumming inside someone, it's probably the taste of fresh ink from someone's throat… Such an underrated thing if you ask me… more people should try it." She twisted the knife, and he gagged, large amounts of ink pouring out of both the wound and his mouth.

She giggled and kissed his cheek, before pulling the knife out and standing up. Greedily, she licked some of the ink off before grinning down at the dying Octoling, as she went to grab her pants. She slipped them on, and stepped out of the broom closet they were hiding in, licking off the ink like it was a lollipop.

An Octoling soldier came up to her when she saw her. "Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you. Where were you?"

"Having some fun." She replied. "What do you want, hun? You want some fun, too?"

"I… just wanted to tell you that… we have a potential breach. The… security cameras went out. All of them."

"Ah. That's good…" She said, still licking from the knife. "The Splatoon must be here."

"Should I send out the order to defend ourselves?"

"Hmm… no… the plan was to draw Agent 3 here… you know that, babe…" She suddenly handed her the ink-covered knife. "Clean that."

"U-Understood…" She said, stopping, watching as Ayesha walked off to do whatever.

* * *

Just outside the building, Jessica's platform positioned itself nearby in a way where it was obscured from public view, just like any other time she had to infiltrate a building like this. It was always the same general routine.

Barely wasting any time, she quickly slipped on her goggles and waited for them to activate, taking her sweet time to survey everyone inside. There were quite a few Octolings inside, but they didn't seem to be expecting an attack of any kind, and many were just goofing off. If she was stealthy, then the only people she would have to worry about were the guards that were actively patrolling the halls and watching doorways.

She mentally mapped out her path, and then silently pulled out her grapple hook, firing it above the window she had decided on. Keeping her goggles on, she let the grapple hook pull her toward the building with barely any noise, and she silently found her footing by the window seal. She pressed a button on the side of her goggles to deactivate the night-vision mode, and then carefully creaked the window open. She climbed in, smiling a bit to herself at how easy this was just because of how some dipshit left the window unlocked. She closed it behind her.

She kept low and close to the wall as she navigated the building, stepping lightly to not sound off obvious footsteps. Her goggles were still displaying the heat signatures of any Octolings in the halls, allowing her see anyone who was coming and hide accordingly. She had to duck into a side room from time to time, but for the most part was navigating the halls easily.

Soon, she was just around the corner from her destination on the floor; an elevator, which unfortunately for her, was guarded by an Octoling. Carefully looking around the floor, she saw that there wasn't really anyone nearby to hear, so she carefully snuck up to her as soon as she wasn't looking, sneaking along the wall as she went up to her.

The guard didn't even have time to react as she was suddenly grabbed in a choke hold; she tried to scream, but nothing came out, and Jessica slowly brought her down to the floor as she slipped unconscious. She took another brief look around to make sure she was alone, hit the down button on the elevator, and entered once it opened.

* * *

Ayesha was already down in the basement, where only a couple other Octolings were hanging out. She walked into a small room full of computer servers, where there was a single Octoling already in there as guard, who turned to her when she heard her. "Ayesha."

"Hi, honey…" She said with a grin as she stepped in. "Busy today?"

He just shook his head no.

"That's good…" She suddenly shoved him up against one of the servers, seductively rubbing his cheek. "What if I told you that you can be on break now…?"

He seemed incredibly surprised at the action, but shrugged it off somewhat, knowing how Ayesha could be. "I… I don't know, I have… work here…"

"Aw, come on, honey… work can wait…" She suddenly pulled out a knife, slicing his throat before he could even react. She watched as he gagged and grabbed the wound, falling down to the ground. "Sorry, babe… I know Ward doesn't like me satisfying myself with our men, but… sometimes I just can't help myself… Oh well, you were annoying anyway…"

The Octoling just slowly bled out, gagging all the way to the end.

At around this point, she heard the elevator finish its descent to the bottom, and she knelt down to pull the knife out of his throat, turning and prepping for her foe.

Not long after, Jessica barged in, facing her. "…Hello, again, Ayesha." She said snidely.

She smiled, again licking her knife like it was candy. "Hi, sweetie. I've been waiting for you…"

She pulled out her Hero Shot, pointing it directly at her face. "You have been a real pain in my ass, you know that? And now you're just in my way…"

"Aww, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to block you…" She didn't even seem to mind the gun pointed directly at her face, and showed no signs of surrender. "It's nice to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same thing for you… Good thing your gang's days are numbered."

"Are they, now? Sounds like a shame…" She suddenly slashed her knife upward, cleanly slicing part of her Hero Shot off. Then, she kicked her in the stomach as hard as she could, knocking her back. "Well, I'll never surrender…"

Jessica regained her balance and eyed her now broken gun, tossing it aside. "Dammit…" She mouthed.

Ayesha giggled a little. "Sorry, honey… I just don't really like guns."

She prepped herself for combat. "Maybe you should actually try them."

She scoffed. "Boys and their toys…" She flipped her knife in the air and caught it again to hold it in a better position, and then suddenly charged forward, slashing at her.

Jessica dodged the first swing, and Ayesha slashed at her from various angles. She kept dodging, and eventually was forced to block as she nearly slammed the knife down on her face. She used both hands to hold her back, straining against her for a moment, before she eventually kicked her away.

Ayesha grunted as she kept her footing, and then charged forward again, her slashes getting faster and more desperate. Jessica noted that her slashes were becoming less predictable as a result, but was still able to dodge each one and eventually grab her hand out of the air. She was able to knock the knife out of her hand, but Ayesha suddenly kicked her in the leg as hard as she could, which knocked her down to her knee.

Jessica grunted. If there was one thing to note at the moment, Ayesha was surprisingly strong. She attempted to get back up, but Ayesha began wailing on her, and eventually grabbed her and pushed her into a wall. She grabbed a nearby telephone that was on the wall, and wrapped the cord around her neck, pulling tightly to choke her.

Jessica gasped for air and attempted to grab at her, but Ayesha kicked her further into the wall and then grabbed her head, pinning her face to the wall. She leaned in, whispering into her ear. "I have to admit, you're sexy… I'm disappointed I won't ever get to have fun with you…"

Jessica tried to say something, but was completely unable to breathe, and was unable to even gag in response. Feeling herself slowly dying, she mustered all her strength to elbow her in the face, which only loosened her grip. She managed to grab her, and unwrapped the cord from her neck, gasping for air. Ayesha angrily kicked her in the stomach, and she fell to her knees, wheezing as she still struggled to catch her breath.

Ayesha attempted to wrap the cord around her again, but Jessica responded by quickly reaching up and mustering her strength to pull the entire phone out. She slammed it into Ayesha's face, successfully knocking her back, and then got up to keep hitting her with it.

Ayesha tried her hardest to fight back in a fist fight, but ultimately, Jessica was able to use the phone to her benefit and hit her one last time in the head. She flew back into the wall, and slid down unconscious.

She dropped the phone, still catching her breath, her breathing how hoarse and her throat in pain. "…Asshole…"

Then, she went to do what she was even there for; she pulled out the portable hard drive from her belt, went over the computer servers, and plugged it into the first slot she could find. A light on the drive turned red to indicate it was downloading, and then after several minutes of her hiding down there, turned green.

* * *

**Minutes Later**

**Jessica's Apartment**

Jessica slipped back in through the same window she left in, seeing that Cuttlefish and Daniel were still patiently waiting on the couch. She went up to Cuttlefish, dropping the hard drive on his lap.

Cuttlefish smiled underneath his beard. "Good job, young lady! It's all on here?"

"Should be…" Jessica sighed, sitting on the table. She looked exhausted, and her throat was bruised.

Daniel looked at her. "I see things went sour."

"I ran into Ayesha… nothing I haven't dealt with before." She unhooked her cape and let it fall to the table, rubbing her throat. "She… packs a punch." She admitted.

"And she's insane."

"What, you've met her?"

He didn't respond, and Cuttlefish powered back on his laptop and plugged in the hard drive. He scrolled through. "Ah yes… all the data is here. Good work, young lady." He closed the laptop again and stood up, shaking as usual. "I'm gonna head home and look through it all. You just relax now."

"Thanks, Cuttlefish." She stood up as well and hugged him.

"I'm so proud of you… I just knew we still had a chance… and it's all because of you."

She just nodded and broke the hug, accepting the compliment and smiling just a little. "Love you."

"Love you too…" She patted her shoulder and grabbed his cane, preparing to head out. "Oh, and since you're off again for a bit and all… you should go say hi to the Splatoon again. I'm sure Eight will be happy to see you."

"Yeah, maybe she will. I've got some stuff I need to talk with her about, anyway."

He nodded, smiled again, and headed out, closing the door behind him.

Daniel stood up to leave as well, and Jessica turned to him. "Hey… so… I was thinking that maybe we should… meet up again tomorrow. Catch up."

Jessica sighed, thinking about it. "…Yeah… sure… if you want."

He just nodded. "…See you then." He went over to the door, but stopped and turned around. "You did great today, sis. I knew you could do it. The Underdogs don't stand a chance now."

Jessica rolled her eyes. "Alright, get out of here."

He just left without another word, leaving Jessica to relax for the night.


	4. Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite plans to relax, Jessica finds herself fighting for her life in a sudden attack.

**The Next Day**

Jessica and Daniel walked down a sidewalk through the city, taking in the sights with shakes in their hands. Jessica occasionally glanced at Daniel as if she wanted to say something, but rarely did, and the two were mostly walking in awkward silence.

He noticed and eventually sighed. "…Look, I… know it was an asshole thing to do to never… contact you…"

"...Yeah… it was…" She replied casually.

He seemed a bit bothered. "…But I figured that… since we're gonna be… co-workers now… we might as well start talking sooner or later."

She sighed herself. "…I'm sorry, alright? It's just that you suddenly popping in and joining the Splatoon, after all these years, without a single peep out of you beforehand… it's a bit much to take in. Do you get that?"

He nodded. "I know, but I've been… living all these years without a family, and I wanted to maybe… start making up for that…"

She suddenly stopped and turned to him. "Do you also get that ever since our parents died… I haven't had any family either? At all? The Splatoon is the closest thing I've had to that."

He stopped as well and turned to her. "Yeah… well… it's more than I've had…"

"My point is… I just… don't know if I can start getting back into the whole family thing…"

"Honestly…" He sighed. "…I don't know if I can either…"

"Then why'd you come back?"

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.

"Whatever…" Jessica finished as she continued walking, not caring if he even followed or not. She finished up her shake and threw it in a trash can that she passed.

"But I still want to try it!" He caught up with her. "I know that I've been gone a long time… but I'm here now. I joined the Splatoon, and I helped you steal data from the Underdogs, so just… please give me another chance."

"Why should I?" She said as she kept walking, not even looking at him.

"I just said why…"

"Try harder."

"I mean… remember all the… fun times we used to have?"

"Yeah. And you ruined them."

He sighed. "I mean… you had a part in that…"

"Me!?" She suddenly snapped, turning back to him. "Sure, I was a brat, but it was YOU who ruined our lives, not me!" She pointed at his chest. "Our parents would still be fucking alive if it wasn't for you! So don't try to turn your shit on me!"

He stopped but didn't flinch, looking around. They had attracted unwanted attention from random people who were walking along the sidewalk at the moment, who were staring at them awkwardly. He sighed. "I-I'm sorry… alright? I didn't… mean to… I was sick, you know that."

"Fuck yeah, you were sick."

"So I went away, and I got help. I'm better now."

She sighed, thinking for a moment before replying. "...I'm not sure that matters, Daniel."She looked around to also notice they had an audience. "Get outta here, assholes!" She suddenly snapped.

The people around walked off, and Daniel sighed. "…Please…" He said, looking increasingly distressed.

Jessica sighed as well, still collecting her thoughts. "…Look, maybe one day, we can… we can be like siblings again… but for now… I… it's too soon… alright? I can't suddenly toss myself into the whole family thing again right now… What I have right now is the Splatoon, and that's the family I wanna be focused on. And you know what…? I don't know if I can consider you a part of that yet… I don't care what kind of agent role you have…"

"Jessica… Just… please give me another chance…"

"...Maybe some other time… when I've actually seen how you've gotten better…" She started walking again. "…Thanks for the shake…"

"Jessica!" He yelled, but this time, Jessica opted to ignore him. "Jessica!"

Jessica noticed that people were again staring, but ignored it, soon turning a corner and disappearing from Daniel's sight.

"Don't fucking walk away from me!" He finished, but didn't follow. He too noticed that people were staring.

He looked around, turning in a circle multiple times at the people who were staring. He felt… like the world was collapsing in on him. Everyone was staring. Judging him. Laughing at him. Were they laughing…? No… but he was sure…

An ominous noise was building in his ears, almost as if a swarm of bees was crawling around in there. Tears began welling up in his eyes as the noise got louder, and he quickly turned to breathing exercises he was taught over the years; he quickly found they weren't working as well as they normally did.

Panicking, he began walking away, in the direction of his apartment.

* * *

**That Night**

Jessica's cape flew proudly behind her as it always did under the night air. As she landed on her platform again, she groaned, feeling her knuckles and noticing they were already bruising. It was a long night of fighting random criminals, and while she already replaced her Hero Shot with a spare copy, she hadn't even been in the mood to use it.

She sighed and relaxed on the platform, draping her feet over the edge as she sat down, and rose the platform high above the city. It was an incredible view up this high, with the city lights mixing with the otherwise darkness, and she normally would've been relaxed. But, tonight, it was just somber. Too much had been on her mind today, and she wasn't as used to that anymore.

After several minutes of her sitting still, overlooking the city in silence, her phone suddenly started vibrating. She groaned again and pulled it out from under her Hero Jacket, answering it. "…Hello?"

_"Hey, young lady." _The voice of Cap'n Cuttlefish sounded back at her. _"How has your day been?"_

She sighed. "Shitty…"

_"What happened, if you don't mind me asking?"_

"...Nothing, don't worry about it…"

He sighed as well. _"…You know, you worry me sometimes, young lady…"_

"...I know… but I promise, it's fine… I'm fine…"

_"Alright… so… anyway… I just wanted to let you know that I've been trying to break into the hard drive ever since you got it to me, but… it's still encrypted. I've… been using this uh… what's it called… software? …Software, yes, I think that's it… I'm using this software thingie that Marina installed on the computer, and it's minutes away from being cracked. …At least that's what the screen is telling me…"_

"...Alright, thanks for the update."

_"No problem. I'm telling you, the Underdogs are done after tonight. I can't wait to watch them pay for their crimes…"_

"Well, pardon me if I'm not in such a celebratory mood at the moment…" She sighed. "Maybe, though, when this is all done… we can meet up again and… do something cool, I guess. I could use the cheering up…"

_"I like the way you think." _He chuckled. _"I'm gonna see the rest of this decryption through now. You take care of yourself. Maybe talk to Eight like we discussed. You know she wants to see you."_

"Yeah… I know, I will."

_"Love you, young lady."_

"Love you…" She hung up and put the phone away, her thoughts returning to Daniel.

She looked back out over the city skyline, shedding a couple tears as her mind refused to think about anything other than Daniel. About the life she could've had. She silently cried for several minutes.

* * *

It was almost midnight when she finally returned home a couple hours later. The platform came to a steady and silent halt by her apartment, and she crawled in through the already open window. The lights were off, leaving the place dark, but she didn't bother turning them on. She didn't even go to change out of her Hero Outfit. Instead, she silently went to the fridge, grabbing a drink as she looked over her phone.

She browsed her contacts list, which wasn't very long compared to most people's, and quickly came across the number for Bridgett, AKA Agent 8. She put the drink down as she thought about how exactly she was going to contact her.

She wasn't about to call her this late, but at least wanted to send her a text. The text she sent was nothing fancy: **"Hey. I'm off work again. Wanting to talk. Call me tomorrow"**

She sighed and put the phone down, picking up her drink again and relaxing against the counter. She could hear some neighbors downstairs being loud; sounded like a group of people running up the stairs, yelling at each other about who knows what despite the time. "Assholes…" She muttered to herself.

She considered going down to give them a piece of her mind, but ultimately decided against it, leaning over the counter and looking out the window. Her window view was nothing too fancy; there was another apartment building right next to hers that blocked any city views. If she looked closely, she could sometimes see people through the windows, and even occasionally saw people having sex, which she always actively ignored. Today, though, probably because of the time, there was nothing much to see.

After a bit, she heard her phone vibrate once, and she peeked over. She had assumed Bridgett had already texted her back, but in actuality, it was Cuttlefish. She sighed and picked up her phone to text back.

** CraigCuttlefish: ** ** are u home**

** Agent 3: ** ** Yeah, it's late, what's up**

** CraigCuttlefish: ** ** get out of there**

She sighed, starting at her phone in confusion for a few seconds before texting back.

** Agent 3: ** ** Why**

** CraigCuttlefish: ** ** we have to meet up now**

** CraigCuttlefish: ** ** the** ** splatoon is compromised**

** CraigCuttlefish: ** ** the underdogs are coming**

She put the phone down as soon as she saw the last text, thinking to herself. What the hell did he mean the Splatoon was compromised? As she was thinking to herself about it, a strange thin light suddenly pierced her home through the window, pointing directly at her. _'What…?'_ She wondered, unable to think of what the light was for a second, and she wondered if she was hallucinating.

It took her about 2 more seconds to realize it was the light of a charger, an apparently long range one. There was a sniper in the apartment building across from her. A single "Shit-!" escaped her mouth as she immediately reverted to her squid form to duck behind the counter, and the window broke as the sniper fired a high-powered shot of ink straight into her apartment, barely missing her.

She remained hidden in her squid form for the moment, beginning to sneak toward the door, but at that moment, the sounds of banging sounded as what seemed to be multiple people attempted to bust her door down. It was the same group of people she heard being loud downstairs, she realized from their voices. She returned to her humanoid form, but still remained ducked down, as she grabbed and prepared her Hero Shot. She realized now she wasn't getting out of this one without a fight. Good thing she was definitely used to it by now.

It didn't take long for the door to break out of its hinges and collapsed to the ground, before several armed Octolings stepped in, looking for her. It was definitely the Underdogs. It didn't take long at all for them to notice her, so she quickly got up to begin firing at them.

She easily splatted about three of them, but the sniper began attacking again, firing a few failed shots at her, breaking holes in her windows with each shot. She turned to her squid form again and ducked behind the couch, as she saw even more Octolings walking in.

"We have her." One Octoling said into their com system, as he turned toward him.

She suddenly turned back into her humanoid form and quickly grabbed a random plate she had left, throwing it at his face as hard as possible. It shattered against him, cutting him a bit as he did so, and he stepped back with a grunt. She used the opportunity to splat him with her gun, and she ducked by a wall near the door as more Octolings were walking in.

They searched the house, failing to notice her standing nearby as they walked past her, and they were quickly splatted as Jessica shot at them from behind. There was still a small army of Octolings coming, which forced her to engage with a fist fight with some of them in order to fend some of them off, occasionally ducking with her squid form to avoid the sniper inbetween waves. The sniper was still trying to shoot at her through the windows, and was only narrowly missing his shots.

She fought through many Octolings, and eventually, they had sent in their last resort. Two last Octolings walked in, standing among the unconsious or splatted Octolings she had already defeated, wearing what at first seemed to some kind of armor. "We're in position!" One of them yelled out.

Jessica's eyes widened when she realized that they weren't exactly wearing armor; they were wearing suicide vests, and both were holding detonators. She stood up in a panic. "Son of a BITCH!"

"Now!" Both Octolings activated their vests, and the entire apartment was engulfed and destroyed in a fiery explosion. Jessica quickly leaped out the window without hesitation, crashing straight through the glass, barely managing to avoid the immediate blast. Without her platform prepared for her to land on, she tumbled all the way down, landing by a dumpster in the alleyway between the two buildings. Despite the light bodies of Inklings and Octolings, she landed roughly because of how she had jumped out of the building, bouncing off the dumpster and awkwardly landing on her stomach with her Hero Shot still in her hand.

She looked up to see that ash and other pieces of her apartment were raining down around her. There was a stabbing pain in her side, and she was pretty sure she was bleeding. "Shit…" She muttered. Now her home was… just gone. She slowly got up with a grunt, in lots of pain, and soon noticed that her cape had also set fire. "Shit!"

She threw it off and to the ground, stomping on it until the fire was put out. "Dammit…" She sighed. The cape was already badly scorched, down to the 3 logo. It was a gift she received from Cuttlefish himself, and now that was gone too. She checked up on whatever happened to her side, to notice that a piece of glass had actually managed to tear through the more vulnerable parts of her Hero Jacket and had sliced her flesh, lots of orange ink steadily bleeding through.

She took a moment by the dumpster to think herself through the pain and figure out her escape route. The Underdogs were likely still looking for her, she knew that much. She realized she had lost her phone in the explosion as well, but right now, she had one goal: Get the hell out of there and meet up with Cuttlefish somehow. Only then would she get answers.

Hero Shot in hand, she limped away from the building in search of something to contact Cuttlefish with. Her leg specifically was also in lots of pain, and she wasn't quite sure why, but she could assume it was from the fall. The explosion had definitely acquired lots attention, and random civilians she was forced to avoid were out looking at the scene, along with fire truck and police sirens off in the distance.

She snuck her way out of the area, either limping or crawling in her squid form all the way depending on if there was people nearby. Her quest to find some kind of pay phone in order to contact Cuttlefish ended up bringing her to the edge of the city, by the lake that surrounded it. It was a rather quiet area, and there didn't seem to be anyone around.

She decided to take a break and rest by the fence, grunting and panting as she sat down, still in lots of pain. She looked at her Hero Shot, seeing that it was already scratched up. She had lost all of her gear that she didn't already have on her. Her new goggles, grapple hook, all gone. Of course, she did have spares of some of it locked away elsewhere, where she also kept her Hero Shot spares, but she wasn't sure it was safe to go there at the moment.

A couple tears fell down her cheeks as she thought back to what a shitty day this was, but she wasn't about to let herself give up. "I'm invulnerable…" She whispered to herself with a weak sigh in an attempt to calm herself down. "I'm invulnerable… I am Jessica Murdock… the one… the only… Agent 3…"

She sat like this for several minutes, constantly whispering to herself and focusing on her breathing to calm herself down, before she eventually forced herself up. At this point, however, she realized her legs were weak. She gripped the fence to keep her balance. "Shit…" She cried out softly. She could tell herself she was invulnerable all she wanted, but in truth, she hadn't felt this vulnerable in a long time.

She started to walk away from the area, but it was only now that she realized there was someone in the area, watching her. She jumped a little when the man, who had his face covered with some sort of gas mask, approached her. She gripped her Hero Shot.

_"...You look nervous, Agent 3." _The man said, his voice distorted by a voice changer presumably from the mask.

Jessica stared at him, thinking through her response. "…Just planning out how exactly I'm gonna kick your ass right now…"

He chuckled. _"…You still think you can win? That your life has any sort of meaning in all of this? You've been scraping by this whole time, telling yourself how invulnerable you are. But I can see now… you're just a scared little girl. Trying to act like a man…"_

She gritted her teeth. "…Shut up…"

_"You thought you could take on the Underdogs. You never realized how we always have the upper hand. And now… you're about to pay for that. With your life."_

Jessica angrily pulled out her Hero Shot, firing it straight at him in an attempt to splat him, but the man was too fast for that. He swiftly dodged with a roll, and quickly knocked her Hero Shot from her hand before punching her in the stomach.

She fell back with a grunt, hitting her head on the pavement. "Ah!"

_"Get up!" _He kicked her in the head, crushing it a little against the pavement, and then kicked her again in the stomach, which pushed her back further. _"Get up and fight me!"_

There was a loud ringing in her ears now as she mustered all the strength she had in her body to do so, slowly getting up and then suddenly going in for a strike. The man only easily dodged her swing, hitting her in the back. She grunted and tried again, but he just responded with a similar move, hitting her directly in the face.

She fell back onto her back again. She wanted desperately to fight back properly, but she was too weak. She had lost too much ink, and now her head was killing her. She lied still on the ground, already defeated.

_"Agent 3 has been executed." _The man said into his com system as he knelt down next to her, pulling out a knife.

She stared at him, fear in her eyes, as she attempted to weakly punch him again. It was a weak attempt and did absolutely nothing, so the man just responded by stabbing the knife straight into her stomach. She screamed in pain and began choking up some more ink. She was desperately gasping for air at this point, lots of ink pouring from her mouth.

As she accepted her death, the man suddenly took the knife back out and them stabbed her several more times in quick succession. Less sounds and more ink were coming out of her mouth now as she was slipping unconscious. She silently and weakly accepted her death, absolutely unable to do anything.

_"Pathetic…" _The man then grabbed her jacket, dragging her back to the fence that protected people from the lake, creating a line of bleeding ink where Jessica was being dragged. Jessica herself barely even moved, still slowly losing consciousness. Her thoughts were a bit of a mess at the moment, but if she knew anything, it was that she had lost. This was her ultimate failure. She thought she was invulnerable, but had failed to protect her own life.

Once they were at the fence, the man picked her up and tossed her over into the lake, watching as the water quickly splatted her. Her body melted into nothing but a blob of orange ink, which slowly sank into the depths. The man had nothing left to do but walk away, satisfied with himself.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cuttlefish was desperately leaving his house, his posture extra shaky with his cane in his hand, as he located his car. "Come on, pick up, pick up, pick up…" He muttered. He had been attempting to call Jessica for the past several minutes, but had failed each attempt.

He shakily grabbed his car keys when he finally reached his car, desperately fumbling them in his hands to find the correct one, when suddenly, two flashlights centered on him, and he dropped both his cane and the keys with a surprised gasp.

"Get down on the ground! You are under arrest!" Detective Grant Johnson screamed at him, holding him at gunpoint along with his partner. Cuttlefish only responded by throwing his hands up, so he repeated himself. "Get down on the ground! Now!"

Scared out of his mind, he slowly and carefully got down to his knees, and Johnson suddenly went to handcuff him, while his partner searched him for weapons.

"Please… Please, I have a big problem I really need to handle right now! We can talk this out!" He pleaded. "You don't understand!"

"Oh, I understand…" Johnson said bitterly. "And don't worry, we'll be having a nice long talk… whether you like it or not…"

"Please!" Cuttlefish yelled again as they carried him off to a police car.


	5. Resurrection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Detective Johnson furiously interrogates Cuttlefish for information about the NSS. Meanwhile, Jessica is found on the brink of death.

**Inkopolis Police Station**

Cuttlefish had been completely unable to relax for hours now, and his patience was being incredibly tested despite his age. He was currently cuffed to a cold metal table in an interrogation room, with nothing but a one-way mirror and his own thoughts to keep him occupied. _'What if the Underdogs already got to Jessica?' _was the only thing he could think about.

"God damn it, what is taking so long!?" He suddenly yelled out, hurting himself a bit in the process. He grunted, and then started crying from the pure stress of the situation. "Please… Please, you can't hold me here… I need to find her…"

A moment later, the door finally opened, and Detective Grant Johnson stepped in, with his partner behind him, who was holding some large folders. He had yellow ink and a mush-cut hairstyle. "It wouldn't be such a long wait if you didn't have so much on your plate for us to look over." He sat down at the table across from him, relaxing his hands. "Speaking of your plate… you have quite the life story, don't you? Especially in just the last few years…"

"Let me out of here." Cuttlefish commanded. "We are dealing with a serious problem and people could get seriously hurt…"

"We'll have to discuss that later." He took the folders from his partner. "For now… we have a lot to discuss." He then slammed the folders down on the table in front of him. "These… are everything we have right now on the New Squidbeak Splatoon. The secret vigilante organization that you run. You have been hiding right under our noses all these years and we never knew… until now…" He chuckled. "I've gotta say… I'm impressed… I really am…"

"...How did you even find out about us?"

"All of your files got leaked. To the public. By a virus." He looked through some of the folders. "Including the identity of the infamous vigilante… Agent 3…" He located and pulled out a picture of Jessica. "Jessica Murdock."

Cuttlefish looked down. "…What are you gonna do?"

"It's already been done." He leaned back in his chair. "We have gathered everything we could in these files about certain events that transpired in Octo Valley and Octo Canyon."

"No…"

"Yep. The Splatoon is done now, Cuttlefish. We have already arrested Callie Cuttlefish, Marie Cuttlefish, Dylan Schultz, and Sheldon Shellendorf for the involvement in either case. We're leaving Pearl Hime, Marina Ida, and a simple Octoling by the name of Bridgett alone for now just because we didn't find anything that says they've done anything illegal, but… you can be sure we'll still be keeping an eye on them."

"You hurt my granddaughters and I'll-"

"Oh, relax. We're not gonna hurt them. We're just still trying to figure out what the punishments are gonna be."

"...Please… we can talk this out another way…"

He ignored him, suddenly standing up. "For now, though, we have another more pressing matter. Agent 3. Just so you know, she has been a huge pain in my ass for the past few years already. And guess what? Now she's straight up missing."

"...What? What do you mean missing? Where is she!?"

"We don't know. That's literally what missing means. Her apartment was apparently bombed last night, and while we did find the bodies of several Octolings in the area that we're still actively investigating, we never found her own body."

Cuttlefish felt like he was gonna have a heart attack. "No… no…"

"So I'm gonna make my next question real simple…" He leaned in. "Where is Jessica Murdock?" He hissed.

* * *

Completely unbeknownst to Cuttlefish, the police, or anyone in the general public, Jessica Murdock was currently lying unconscious at the edge of the city; her splatted ink had collectively gotten sucked into the sewer system and spat back out onto the city streets overnight, which had allowed her body to reform by the next morning, The area she had wound up in was a rather abandoned area nearby the city dump, with no one around to just stumble into her.

Of course, at least, the chances were only very slim. At one point in the late morning, a single female Inkling, with beautiful turquoise ink and a wave hairstyle, did manage to stumble upon her. Only it wasn't by pure chance; she had been looking for her all morning.

"Oh my god…" She muttered to herself when she finally saw her, as she rushed over and knelt down to check on her. She was in incredibly bad shape, with stab wounds all over her stomach as well as other bruises and cuts, and had obviously lost a lot of ink. Her immediate thought was that she was dead, as no ordinary person could survive wounds like this, but strangely, she didn't seem pale enough. Staring at her curiously, the girl put a couple fingers on Jessica's throat to check her pulse, and to her surprise, still detected a heartbeat. "…What…?"

She didn't have time to question the science of the situation, however. She wasn't dead but she must've been dying at the very least. She pulled out her phone, dialing a number. "…Dana? …I found her… she's still alive…"

* * *

**Later That Day**

**An Orphanage in Inkopolis**

Jessica was laid down on a make-shift hospital bed, still deeply unconscious.

"Dammit, she should be in the hospital!" An older-looking doctor who was called there yelled to the orphanage owner, Dana Reynolds, a woman who appeared to be about his age.

"She's fucking Agent 3." The girl with the wave hairstyle said. "You know… the infamous vigilante? Who got fucked over yesterday? The police are looking for her."

"Just… please, John…" Dana said. "I don't know where else she would go… and you know she used to be ours…"

John sighed, as he started turning the room into a more complete make-shift hospital room. He connected Jessica to a heart-rate monitor, and put multiple IVs in her arms to help treat her. The heart-rate monitors showed that her vitals seemed to be hanging on a thread; it was almost as if her body was attempting to shut down, yet something was stopping that from happening.

John looked at her vitals in confusion. "That's weird…" He then took a bit to examine her wounds, only becoming increasingly confused as Dana and the girl watched. "…I… I don't understand…"

"What?"

"...S-She should be dead… twice over…" He gulped, continuing to look over her and at the vitals in amazement. "…I've never seen anything like this…"

"What do you think is happening, John?" Dana asked.

"I… I don't know… it's almost as if there's something in her system that's keeping her alive… and whatever that would be is completely unheard of in the medical department…"

"...So what do we do…?"

"I… I think at this rate… as long we treat her at least… she should live… but I don't understand how… at all…"

Dana sighed. "Do what you need to do… we'll let her stay here…" She turned to the girl, who was standing next to her. "…Thank you for finding her, Vanessa."

"Yeah, no problem…" Vanessa said, still staring at Jessica. "She's… we go way back, after all… as soon as I heard about what happened last night, I just… had to find her…"

"We're lucky to have you…" She pulled Vanessa into a hug. "You are skilled at finding people, you know… you have a gift…"

"...Thank you…" She returned the hug and then sighed, turning back to John. "…You're saying she'll live, but… will she be alright?"

John looked back at her. "…I don't know… I hope you don't mind I'll be sticking around for a little while… I need to see what exactly is keeping her alive…"

"It's like I said." Dana said. "Do what you need to and we'll keep her away from the police and the public."

He nodded. "Understood."

* * *

A week passed, and Jessica remained unconscious the whole time, having apparently slipped into a coma. John was still constantly visiting her to investigate on her wounds and help with the treatment process, and the entire time, her body only seemed to be healing rather than failing, just as he had predicted.

On the 8th day, he was able to borrow an entire MRI machine from the hospital and get it to the orphanage, where he stuck Jessica inside. He powered on the machine, and was soon able to pull up a scan of her brain on a computer.

The brain didn't really seem healthy, and it was quickly obvious to John that she had received a major concussion and some brain damage. Interestingly, though, he also saw something much more unusual and nothing like anything he had ever seen; the existence of a few small tumors. They weren't even like cancer tumors, they were more like… some sort of goo.

It took John a little while to fully analyze her brain, but he eventually called in Dana and Vanessa to show them and discuss his theory. "Alright… so… whatever the hell is happening with her body, it's not natural." He started.

"What do you mean?" Dana asked.

He pointed at the tumors on the screen. "These…"

"Well… those look like… cancer."

"Except they're not. At all. It's… some sort of strange goo that I've never seen anything like before. There are samples of an unusual goo mix inside her brain. And while I don't understand how at all… whatever the goo is, it's healing her."

Dana and Vanessa just stared at the screen in wonder, not fully understanding.

"This is completely unlike anything I have ever seen, I know, I keep saying that. But… the good news is… according to my calculations, whatever is inside her brain will continue to heal her, and I do think she can make a full recovery as long as we keep treating her."

"Well, that's great!"

"But it'll be harsh. It'll take another while too… I fully expect she'll remain in her coma for at least another couple weeks… and once she's awake, she'll take another while to fully recover…"

"...And that's fine… we'll hold her here as long as we need to."

He nodded, and began packing up his things. "I… believe that's enough out of me for now. I'll still occasionally check on her, but I've done all I can do… just make sure you girls are taking care of her."

"We will." Vanessa said.

"Thank you…" Dana pulled him into a hug. "You've been such a help…"

"It's my pleasure, sis…" He returned the hug, finished packing his things, and stepped out of the room. "You girls know how to contact me."

Vanessa turned back to Dana. "I'll… be sticking around… I wanna see her recovery through. And maybe, when she's better, I'll… let her stay at my place. I don't think she'll be allowed back in public anytime soon without getting arrested."

Dana pulled her into a hug as well. "Thank you… you've also been such a big help…"

Vanessa sighed and returned the hug. "I'm just doing it for my old friend…"

* * *

**A Few Weeks Later**

As John predicted she would, Jessica remained in her coma for a few more weeks, with John occasionally checking up on him and Dana and Vanessa keeping her treated and clean.

Finally, however, one day, her eyes drifted awake. The first thing she noticed was that she hurt all over, especially in her head and stomach. Almost as if she was still half asleep, she attempted to sit up, but all she was able to do at the moment was move her hands a little.

After being stuck in this position for several minutes, eventually, Vanessa went in to do her usual check-up, and she quickly noticed that her hands were moving. She carefully walked up to her. "…Jess?"

All she was able to do in response was groan a tiny amount.

Vanessa suddenly ran out of the room. "Dana! She's awake!"

A few moments later, Dana quickly rushed in to see for herself, and she seemed to be making more progress with moving at this point. "Don't move, Jessica… you're safe here…"

Jessica forced herself to sit up, although she was incredibly weak. "…My… my head… it hurts…"

"I know… lay back down…" She grabbed her shoulders in an attempt to ease her down, when suddenly, Jessica became increasingly panicked.

"Who… who are you…!?"

"It's Dana. I helped raise you after your parents died, remember?"

Jessica stared at her in confusion. "…Wait… the… the Underdogs… The Underdogs… they're coming! They're coming! I need to get out of here! I can't be here!"

"Jessica, you have been out for weeks. No one is coming. You're safe here…"

"No… no… Cuttlefish! I need to find Cuttlefish!" She gave her best effort into standing up, basically crawling off the bed.

"Stay in the bed, please…" Dana said, when suddenly, Jessica collapsed from the bed as soon as she attempted to stand up.

"Jess!" Vanessa yelled, going to check up on her.

Jessica didn't respond however, apparently having fallen into a severe seizure. She was shaking and convulsing on the floor, her eyes rolled inside her head.

Dana sighed and held her close, waiting for the seizure to subside. "…Damn it, Jessica…"


	6. Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now broken physically and mentally, Jessica makes a harsh recovery.

A few days passed. Morning light crept in through the orphanage windows, where Jessica was still stuck in her make-shift hospital bed, being fed liquids through IVs in both her arms. She had a laptop in her lap above her bed covers, weakly using her fingers to navigate and read through all the articles she felt she needed to catch up on. She had been reading through them for hours now.

Vanessa, who was also up early this morning, was by her bedside, sitting still and waiting in case Jessica had any questions. A couple tears fell down Jessica's cheek. It was obvious what had happened now. All of the information there is to know on the New Squidbeak Splatoon had been leaked to the public by a virus, and everyone who cared knew about everything they had been up to. Many of the members had been arrested, including Cuttlefish, but some of them had simply been placed on house arrest for the time being. That didn't matter, however, as the Splatoon was completely liquidated at this point anyway.

On top of all that, and what personally affected Jessica the most, was that the whole world knew who she was. Jessica Murdock was Agent 3, there was no denying it now. And it didn't stop there; the whole world, the Splatoon members included, thought she was dead. The police were looking for her for a while, as she was technically only missing, but eventually just gave up and falsely reported her killed in action.

Jessica sighed, still looking through the mountains of articles about her. **"Agent 3 Confirmed Killed in Action"**, **"Infamous Vigilante Presumed Dead"**, and **"Who is Jessica Murdock?"** were all just among them. Some of them were just false too, and she even found an article that said the police had found a body. It seemed that no one had the full story. She closed the laptop and suddenly tossed it to the floor angrily, a defeated look on her face.

"Hey!" Vanessa suddenly said, going to pick up her laptop. "You don't have to break it…" She checked to see if it was broken or not, and then sat back down, sighing. "I… know this all must be a lot to take in…"

"Cuttlefish gave me a very simple task…" Jessica said weakly, a broken and distant look in her eyes. "He told me… to stop the Underdogs… and we… thought we had a way to… but… I ruined everything… the second I gave him the hard drive…"

"It's not your fault, Jess. You were… just doing your job, right?"

"What the hell do you know…? I had poor judgement… it was my job to prevent shit like this… and now… everyone I love paid the price for my failure…"

Vanessa just looked down, not knowing how to respond.

"...I thought I was invulnerable…" Jessica nearly whispered.

"You… you can bounce back from this… you know…"

Before Jessica could respond, Dana walked in, and the two girls looked at her.

Dana put on a friendly smile. "Good morning… we… would you like some breakfast?"

Jessica just looked down with her blank expression, not responding, but Vanessa spoke up for her. "Yes… we'd love some."

Jessica was nowhere near a state where she could walk again, so Dana and Vanessa both helped her onto a wheelchair, which allowed Dana to roll her to the dining room area of the orphanage building.

As it was an orphanage building, there were many kids and teenagers here, all people who didn't belong to any sort of family. The dining room itself was filled with almost everyone who lived there, who were all already eating. Jessica sighed as she was rolled over to a place to eat, using her wheelchair as her chair.

"I'm not hungry, you know…" She grumbled to Dana.

"Doesn't matter. You've gotta be eating, Jessica…" Dana slid her a plate of food, and a bottle of antidepressants. "You've gotta be taking these, too…"

Jessica suddenly angrily tossed the antidepressants aside, gathering the attention of some kids around her. "No."

"Jess…"

Jessica weakly looked around at the kids. "This is ridiculous… I'm legally an adult… And here I am… surrounded by little kids… in an orphanage… again… these kids don't even fucking know what they're in for, do they, Dana…?" She leaned back in her chair, ignoring her food.

"Jessica, please just eat…"

"No…" She suddenly raised her voice so that the whole room could hear her, and her following angry speech silenced everyone, even if her voice was still weak and a bit hoarse. "You know all you're being bullshitted, right!? You think you have a chance to go somewhere in life, huh? You probably think all high and mighty of yourselves… and that life's worth living? Well, guess what, news flash, it's _not_." She hissed the last word.

The entire room was staring at her at this point, but she didn't care. She began rolling her own wheelchair to get into a better position, panting as she did so, becoming increasingly tired as her anger overtook her.

"We all have goals at first… a life to live… and then when you go for it… it turns out life just wants to tear you right down to square one… and then in the end… we all fucking die anyway… so what's the point…? Nobody in this room has family… right…? Because none of you are loved! And I'm here to warn you right the fuck now, that it's going to stay that way! Because that's what life is!"

Some kids in the room were crying at this point.

"Life is cruel…" She continued regardless. "…And I looked death in the face… it swallowed me whole… and it spat me back out… It… I…" As she got increasingly tired, her panting was getting heavier and shakier.

Dana went up to her. "Jess?"

She suddenly began violently convulsing and shaking as another seizure hit her, and she unconsciously knocked over her wheelchair as a result, collapsing to the ground. Some people gasped, while some of the smaller kids began crying harder, terrified.

* * *

Jessica was put back in her bed shortly after she came down from her seizure, and she barely even relaxed, looking out the window.

Dana sighed, sitting next to her. "…Why did you have to say that to them?"

"Because those kids need to understand how shitty life is… or else they're gonna learn the hard way…" She sighed. "…Like I did…"

"Life isn't even that bad…" Dana replied, trying to stay positive. "You're just going through a rough patch…"

She suddenly started softly crying. "…Why am I here?"

"...What do you mean…?"

"I should be dead… you know that… The doctor told me… remember…? My body was trying to shut down… and it didn't…"

"And that's a miracle…"

She weakly shook her head. "…No… it isn't…"

"Jessica… What John found… There's… a strange substance inside your brain. It healed you. It saved you. That… is a miracle."

She took a moment to think about that. "…Sounds like leftover Sanitization."

"You know what it is?"

"It's…" She sighed. "It's an… experimental drug, basically… I got injected with it… it… brainwashed me… back when I was Agent 3…"

She just stared at her, not knowing how to respond.

Jessica looked back at her, looking her dead in the eyes, her eyes still blank. "…You still think it's a miracle that I was brainwashed by an evil AI that wanted to destroy the city? That I was… forced to try to kill my friend…? And my father figure…? I mean… she wasn't my friend at the time, but… still…"

"I… I didn't know…"

"Just get out of here, Dana…" She looked back out the window.

She began to step out. "…You say you have friends… and they… think you're dead, you know."

"...I know…"

"...Maybe when you're better, you can… show them you're really not… we can get you through this, Jessica."

She shook her head. "…No…"

"Why not?"

"...Because I already failed with them… it's over now… that part of my life is over now…"

"...It doesn't have to be."

"...But it is. And I have already decided to let them believe that I'm gone still."

"...And why's that?"

She sighed, not moving her eyes away from the window. "…Because I am gone."

* * *

Weeks passed. She was gaining more and more feeling in her legs as time went on, and she was eventually able to start walking again, even if she needed a cane to help support her. She had been taking her antidepressants, but only because Dana had been forcing her too, and she had actively been refusing to in vain.

"So… how's the cane?" Vanessa asked.

"...I feel like Cuttlefish…" Jessica muttered. The two were currently walking down the hall, ignoring the kids that were running around.

"Cuttlefish sounds like a cool guy. I'd love to meet him some day…" Vanessa said.

"Maybe that'd be possible if he weren't in prison…" Jessica sighed.

"...Do you miss it? The… whole Agent 3 gig?"

She sighed again. "…I don't know… what do I know anymore…?"

Vanessa shrugged. "Well, honestly… I kinda envy you."

"What the hell is there to envy in me…?"

"Well… you're a totally good fighter. I've seen some footage. You really kick ass."

"Whatever…"

"I'm serious! You got some serious skill, girl."

"And why the hell would you envy that? I used to think that all I was was a vigilante… that it was what I was meant to be… and it just… didn't work out."

"Still… I'd love to go out, and… beat up criminals like you."

Jessica looked at her. "It's not as fun as it sounds…"

"Oh, come on. You're only saying that because you got your ass kicked."

Jessica then stopped, staring at her with a deathly squint.

Vanessa stopped as well. "I-I mean… not that I could do it any better…"

"I didn't ever think it was fun, not even back when I was delusional." She started walking again, still gripping her cane.

"Oh, come on. You had to have found some satisfaction in saving the city at least." Vanessa followed her.

"...Maybe a little."

"See? You weren't delusional."

"I was. I've been delusional my whole god damn life… At least now I can… see things a bit more clearly…"

"Come on… do you really think you were delusional even when we were just stupid kids having fun here?"

"...Yeah… I do…"

Vanessa looked around. The two had indeed been raised together here after Jessica's family had died. Vanessa herself never even had a family and had been there her whole life. But she could practically see young Jessica and young Vanessa running around in this very hall.

_"Heeheehee… I'm gonna get you!" _Vanessa would scream, chasing Jessica down the hall, eventually catching up and tackling her.

Jessica used to be a much more ecstatic person. She used to actually have a smile with her, and although she could be rude and disrespectful to people, she was overall a fun friend to have. This had carried all the way up to when she was 14, when she left the orphanage to live on her own in Inkopolis.

Vanessa blinked and broke away from her nostalgic thoughts, looking at the present day Jessica instead. She no longer had the smile, or the same energy for that matter. All she saw was a very broken person, one with a blank stare as she walked along with her cane.

She cleared her throat. "You know… I'm still willing to let you live in my apartment, when you're ready… and if you ever want me to help you feel better… I will…"

"Whatever…" Jessica sighed. "I don't know if I can feel better at this point…"

"You will… the antidepressants will only kick in more and more as time goes on."

"I don't care…"

"You should…"

"I don't…"

"Come on…" Vanessa gave a reassuring smile. "I know many ways I can cheer you up…" She suddenly winked.

Jessica squinted at her again and rolled her eyes, ignoring it as she kept walking.

Vanessa giggled a little.

* * *

A couple months passed. Jessica had definitely made physical improvements at this point, and was properly walking again, no cane or anything. She still had occasional seizures, but had been taking medication to help subdue them along with her antidepressants.

Mentally, though, despite the antidepressants, and while she had made improvements in that regard too, she was still a shell of her former self. She went by most of her days keeping to herself, not talking to anyone but Vanessa, and had been actively keeping any thoughts about her Agent 3 past or of the Splatoon out of her head, even if they would often come back in haunting flashbacks or nightmares.

The nightmares were often recurring. Some nights, she was Agent 3 again, bleeding out and dying, with her Executioner watching over her. Other nights, Cap'n Cuttlefish was bleeding out instead, dying in her arms, with her unable to do anything. A lot of nights as well, it was Bridgett who was dying instead, but in the same manner.

One specific night, Jessica was whimpering and squirming in her sleep, to the point Vanessa had to wake her up. "Jess!" She said.

Jessica snapped awake. "W-What? What?" Jessica was confused; Vanessa wasn't usually at the orphanage at night. "…W-What are you doing here?"

"Late night chores for Dana…" She pet Jessica's head. "Usual nightmares?"

Jessica sighed. "…Yeah…"

"...Who was it tonight?"

"...Bridgett…"

"Ah…" She sat down on the bed. "Miss her much?"

Jessica just subtly nodded, not saying anything.

"Here…" Vanessa didn't do this often, but she could tell Jessica needed the comfort at the moment. She crawled under the covers, laying next to Jessica. "You're fine…"

Jessica didn't respond, but didn't seem bothered at all either. One other thing that happened the last couple months is that Jessica and Vanessa had become close friends again. Perhaps Jessica just couldn't shove out all of her past like she wanted to; she needed someone for comfort. Vanessa was just that person to her now.

Vanessa laid next to her, keeping her company until she dozed off again. Eventually, Vanessa herself also dozed off by accident.

* * *

Eventually, the time came that Jessica was ready to move back out of the orphanage and into Vanessa's apartment like they had discussed. The day before she was supposed to move, Jessica had packed her clothes and whatever else, which she didn't even have much of, and did some of her usual chores for Dana around the building. Although she was finally ready to leave the orphanage, however, she still wasn't ready to go back to her vigilante ways, or even let anyone know she was still alive. As far as the public knew, she was dead, and she was gonna stay dead.

Jessica was cleaning up around her room when Dana walked in. "So…" Dana started. "Moving out tomorrow?"

"Yeah…" Jessica said, not looking at her.

"I'm proud of you… that's a big step…"

Jessica didn't respond.

Dana sighed. "I… had some stuff I wanted to talk to you about."

"There's nothing left to talk about." She said simply.

"Yes there is…" Dana walked up to her. "I've… been thinking a lot about what you could be…"

Jessica groaned.

"Don't be like that. I just… I just wanna say that… I do totally support your vigilantism. Sure, it's illegal… but I think that when you were into it… you really did make the city a better place… I'm a firm supporter in that."

"I'm not a vigilante anymore." Jessica stopped what she was doing, turning to her. "I don't even know if I… wanna be Jessica still… I… I don't know who I am…"

"I get that… but… I know that that person is still inside you… and… I wanted to show you something." She suddenly pulled out Agent 3's old Hero Outfit. Headset and half-burnt cape included. Jessica hadn't even seen them physically in months, and she wasn't sure how she got her hands on the cape again.

Jessica stared at the outfit, then up at her, not saying anything.

"I know that you're a hero, Jessica Murdock. And I believe that, Cuttlefish gave these to you for a reason."

Jessica stared for another several seconds in silent disbelief, before finally sighing and turning back to what she was doing. "…Get those the hell out of my face…"

Dana just sighed, and, after thinking for a second, snuck the outfit into her duffle bag where she had packed her clothes. "Well… just… hold on to them… and give it time… maybe your mind will change some day."

"It won't." Jessica replied with finality in her voice.

"You don't know that." She pulled out a disc and went over a cheap CD player that Jessica happened to have in her room. "There's… another thing I also wanted to show you."

"If it has anything to do with Agent 3, I don't want it."

"Just… listen…" She put the CD and skipped song to the song she was talking about. Jessica instantly recognized it. Anyone would, really. It was the Calamari Inkantation. She stopped what she was doing again, but didn't turn around.

"...Does it make you feel anything?" Dana said, finally feeling like she had a chance of convincing her.

"…This song used to have special meaning to me…"

Dana nodded. "And why's that?"

Jessica slowly turned around and walked over to the CD player. It was the first hint of actual nostalgia she had felt in a while. "…When I first heard this… it's like… that was when I truly became Agent 3… that was when I first defeated Octavio… not to mention that it helped a lot of Octarians…"

Dana smiled. "It's a special song."

Jessica nodded in agreement, still listening intently to the melody. "…It is…"

Dana smiled wider, feeling like she finally got a win, and started dancing a tiny bit, not caring how cheesy it was. "Why don't you dance along with me?"

Suddenly, to her dismay, Jessica slammed her fist down on the player, punching it multiple times until the music stopped. "…You weren't listening to me."

Dana frowned, disheartened. She sighed.

Jessica just went back to what she was doing. "I'll be gone by the time you wake up tomorrow, so… I guess this is good bye, Dana."

Dana stared at her. "…I pray that light finds you again one day, Jessica. Because it breaks my heart to see you like this."

Jessica didn't respond, keeping her back turned to her, so Dana just left the room, closing the door.

Jessica finished up her last chore and sat down on the foot of her bed in silence. Looking around, she eventually noticed that Dana had indeed left her Hero Outfit in her still opened duffle bag, which she squinted at. She went to pick it up.

She held it up in front of her, memories of what she used to be flooding back in. Well, one specific memory, at least. Her being stabbed in the stomach, over and over again, before being tossed into a river and left for dead. The Hero Outfit used to be a symbol to her, but now, it was nothing but a reminder of her failure.

* * *

**Midnight**

After everyone else in the orphanage had gone to sleep, Jessica silently crept into the main foyer, where they had an open fireplace. Without even turning the lights on or anything, she went to stand in front of the fire, her complete Hero Outfit in her hands.

She stared at the fire for several minutes. Maybe, perhaps, she could just chuck herself in there, and burn herself. She could finally end her own life. It's not like her life had anything else left to her anyway. She had lost it all. Even if she didn't literally throw herself in, however, she was still about to toss a part of herself in, at the very least.

A while passed, her just staring into the fire, mesmerized. Truthfully, she was reluctant. But, eventually, when she was ready, the Hero Headset was the first thing to go in. Followed by the jacket. The fire roared a little as they fell in and got engulfed in the yellow flames, spitting some sparks out. She held back up her half-burnt cape, her personal favorite gift from Cuttlefish. She was definitely reluctant to throw this one in. Eventually, however, she chucked it in as well, and stepped back to watch the three items burn, slowly turning to ash.

A single tear escaped her eye.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Main Underdogs Base**

It had been a nice couple months since the Underdogs' solid victory against Agent 3. Their plan to lure Agent 3 in and download from their false database, which in turn gave her the parasite that tore the Splatoon down and leaked everything to the public, had worked.

Ayesha walked down the halls of their base, past many gang members, humming a song to herself as she made her way to her destination. She eventually came across a couple Octoling guards, who were guarding a door. She stopped and stood in front of them, still humming a little as she spoke. "Time for me speak to the boss."

One guard just opened the door, but didn't let her in, as he went to get permission first. A few seconds passed, and he came back out. "He's ready to see you."

Ayesha winked at the guards as she walked past them and into the boss's office. It was a decently large room for an office, and had large computer screens all around the walls. "Hi again, sweetie pie~" She sang.

A male Octoling, with a simple yet worn down punk hairstyle, with dark purple hair, turned to her, giving her a good view of his face. One of his eyes was slashed shut, as his eye was missing entirely, yet he just didn't feel the need to wear an eyepatch or anything of the sort. It was Hugh Ward, an infamous figure among the gang community yet one that the public knew very little of. "Ayesha." He said firmly.

"You wanted to have some fun with me?" Ayesha said teasingly, walking up and rubbing his chin a little.

Ward just calmly grabbed her hand to pull it away from his face, before ignoring her question. "I wish that you would stop killing my men for your own personal gratification…"

Ayesha frowned like a child. "Aww, why not…?"

"Because my men are my men. They die in the line of duty, that's one thing… but you have been killing too many for no reason. You even have some people around you a bit nervous."

"Why should I care what they think about me? I'm just having my fun…"

Ward kept his calm posture. "Control your fetishes, Ayesha. Or I will have to do something about it."

Ayesha kept her frown. "Fine… Is that all you wanted me here for, honey…?"

"Not quite. The Executioner shall be arriving here shortly; I felt it was time for another meeting between the three of us."

Her expression immediately brightened. "Ooh, I love when the Executioner comes over…"

"Just remember to behave yourself." He replied. "We're lucky to even have an Inkling like him on our side."

She giggled. "When do I ever misbehave you, babe?"

"I think you'd be surprised."

At around that moment, the Executioner stepped in, still wearing his voice changer gas mask. _"Mr. Ward."_

"Ah… just the man I wanted to see." Ward went over to him. "How did tonight's mission go?" He asked.

_"The target was executed. As I promised."_

"I expect nothing less from one of our greatest men. You have done a great deal to our cause as of late. You can take off the mask now. We have a lot to discuss."

He nodded and took off the gas mask, giving them both a view of his face.

Ayesha giggled. "It's always nice to see you again, hottie…"

It was none other than Daniel Murdock.


	7. Daniel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel recalls his past and the night his parents died.

Mr. Ward, Ayesha, and Daniel soon sat down at a rather fine-looking table, with food laid about over a white cloth with some wine in nice glasses and fancy utensils. Daniel looked over the food in partial amazement.

"...I've gotta say, for a terrorist, you're… pretty fancy." He thought aloud.

Ward smiled. "What can I say? I'm a man with taste." He sipped his wine. "Ayesha and I didn't really get delicacies like this in the Octarian domes… it was a… poor, cruel environment, to say the least. When we migrated to Inkopolis and got some money for ourselves… I just had to raise my standards. Honestly… it'll be a shame to lose it when the city is gone."

"Well, we're taking down the city for a good purpose." Daniel assured him.

"I don't doubt that." He said again, raising his wine glass. "I would like a toast… to the Executioner."

Daniel raised his glass as well. "To the Underdogs."

"And the message… that we'll send this city before it falls."

The two sipped their drinks, but Ayesha apparently wasn't even participating in the toast, instead getting rather uncomfortably close to Daniel. She giggled, putting a hand on his cheek and licking her own lips seductively. "Hi, honey…"

Daniel gulped. "Can you… not…?"

Ward put his glass down. "Ayesha. Stand down. What were we just talking about earlier?"

Ayesha frowned and scooted her seat back to where she was originally sitting. "Fine…"

"Sorry about that…" He told Daniel. "She's… not easy to control at times."

Daniel leaned back in his chair. "I think you should start putting a leash on your pet there." He said sarcastically.

The joke seemed to go over Ayesha's head, however. She made a little purring sound and gave him a seductive smile. "You'd like that, wouldn't you, babe…? Bring me a leash after dinner and I'll be your pet for the night… I could even be your slave… for a while…"

Daniel seemed visibly uncomfortable, so Ward sighed. "Ayesha. Enough. I'm not gonna ask you again."

Ayesha just winked at him and went to play with her food.

"So, anyway…" Ward continued. "To business. Daniel." He leaned forward. "I think it's time I discuss why I even called this meeting."

Daniel looked back at him. "And why's that?"

"Well, plain and simply, we wanna discuss you. And what you are to this team."

"I…" He looked down. "I mean, there's not a lot to discuss."

"Nonsense. I've been thinking, and… you have been a great help to the Underdogs in the past few months. You were the one who found us and came to us with your own little plan to take down the Splatoon. You seem to have a deep resentment to them. Especially to your… sister."

He nodded awkwardly. "…You could say that, yeah."

"But it occurred to me that you've never even told us why. You are a man of talent, but I must say… your motivation is quite hard to read." He took a sip of his drink. "And that's why I called you here."

"So… what is this, a get-to-know-you meeting? Why?"

"This mission is personal to all of us, for different reasons. I'm just trying to figure out why it's so personal to you. I want reassurement that you didn't just join us to kill Agent 3, and that we can still trust you with our task going forward."

Daniel just looked down.

"So let's start with… why did you want Jessica Murdock dead so badly?"

He sighed, taking a moment to respond, silently searching through his own memories. Then, he let his whole story out.

* * *

**Years Ago**

**Lishawn County**

"Jessica! Look!" Daniel called thoughout the house, looking for his sister. "Jessica! I found something!" He was a few years younger than 14, and was thus still developing into his humanoid form, his entire body a nice shade of blue.

Jessica, who was a couple years younger and a nice shade of orange, suddenly popped out from the stairs as he passed. "Boo!"

He jumped, turning to her angrily as she laughed. He frowned. "Don't do that…"

Jessica, at this stage of her life, was definitely a rather hyper person. She had a teasing grin. "What do you want, you dork?"

He held up a fake halloween gas mask he had found. "I found a mask."

She grabbed it from him and looked it over. "Wow… it's ugly…"

He giggled a little. "You know what it reminds me of?"

"What?"

"Like… it looks like something an executioner would wear."

"No, it doesn't."

"Well… kind of…"

She put it on and giggled, before lowering her voice as deep as she could get it. "I am the Executioner! Tremble before me!"

He giggled as well, deeply amused and excited. He reached for the mask. "I wanna be the Executioner!"

She backed off so that he couldn't get it. "No… I'm the Executioner…"

"We can both be the Executioner…" He continued to reach for the mask. "Jessica, please…"

"No! It's mine!" She suddenly ran off.

"Jessica!" He ran after her, chasing her through the house. "Jessica, please!"

Their little chase ended in the living room, where Daniel finally caught up to her and grabbed her, holding her arm. "Give it!"

"No!" She attempted to pull away.

This caught the attention of both their parents, of course, and neither seemed happy. "Daniel, what are you doing?" The mom asked.

"She took my mask and she's not giving it back!" Daniel whined.

She sighed in annoyance. "Jessica… share the mask… or no one gets it…"

"No." Jessica then got rough, angrily turning back to Daniel and suddenly shoving him off. Daniel stepped back and lost his balance, falling backwards and hitting his head on the edge of the coffee table.

"Jessica!" The mom repeated angrily, standing up to check on Daniel. "Are you ok!?" She asked him.

Daniel just curled up in pain, crying softly.

The mom comforted him and then turned back to Jessica. "What the HELL are you doing!? Gimme that!" She ripped the mask off Jessica's head, revealing her rather angry looking face. "Go to your room!"

Jessica grunted, stomping out of the room to her own, slamming the door behind her.

The mom turned back to Daniel, who was still crying and holding his head, laying on the floor. She sighed. "What am I gonna do with you…?"

He continued crying, curling up further. "…W-Why is she so mean to me…? I didn't do anything wrong…"

"Of course you didn't, sweetheart… Jessica can just be like that, you know? I'll make sure she stops, ok?"

He didn't respond.

"Here…" She handed him the mask. "You can play with it now."

He suddenly swatted it out of her hand, throwing it aside.

"Daniel…"

"Just leave me alone!" He yelled.

She sighed and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you…"

He didn't respond again, so she just shook her head in frustration and got back up.

* * *

**Later**

"Hi again, Daniel…" Daniel's psychologist said, sitting down across the room from him. "How have you been feeling this week?"

Daniel was already sitting down, playing with his tentacles. He paused for several seconds to think of his response.

"...Daniel?"

"...Not good…" He finally said.

He nodded and pulled out his notepad that he always used. "Why not?"

"...Because of Jessica… she… I don't ever do anything wrong… I was just trying to show her a mask I found… but she pushed me… she hurt me…" He sank down in his seat. "She always hurts me… And I don't know why…"

"That can be how it is with siblings. Sometimes, siblings just don't get along. I know that despite that, though, she loves you very much."

"No she doesn't." He said quickly. "She always has to remind me how much she hates me… and she insults me… and pushes me…" A tear escaped his eye. "I just want to be her friend… and she won't let me…"

He leaned forward. "You wanna know what I think?"

"...What?"

"I think she's jealous of you. She sees something in you that maybe she can't have herself. She wants to be like you. And that's why she's mean."

He shook his head. "She just thinks I'm crazy…"

"Why does she think you're crazy? You're not crazy…" He said in a reassuring way, but yet, you could tell in his voice he was lying a bit.

"...Because I hear voices… that aren't there… I can't even talk to her about it, because… she'll just mock me…"

A scribbling noise could be heard as the psychologist wrote that down in his notes, and he leaned forward again. "That actually brings me to what I want to talk about next. The voices that you hear… how's that been going for you?"

"They're the same…" Daniel kept his gaze down. "They still say mean things… awful things…"

"Like what?"

He hesitated. "…They've been saying that I should kill Jessica… and… my family. Because of how they don't help me and I'm better off without them. Another voice told me to burn the house down."

He looked at him nervously. This was news to him. He slowly wrote this down in his notes as well, and then looked back up at him, clearing his throat. "…And, is this something you actually want to do?"

He thought about it for several seconds, several tense seconds for the psychologist, before he subtly shook his head no.

More scribbling sounded as he wrote down more in his notes.

"I mean… maybe… I… I-I don't know…"

The psychologist looked at him again, more nervously this time, before he proceeded to scribble out the notes he just wrote and replace them with new ones.

* * *

"Well… I'm sorry to say it, but… I think he's maybe getting worse." The psychologist told the mom after their meeting concluded.

"W-Why's that? What happened?"

"He's… starting to show more obvious signs of violent tendencies. The dreams that he describes, the voices in his head, they're all… getting more violent. And more severe."

She looked down. It had been a long hard road since he got diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age. "…So what do we do?"

"Talk to him. Be there for him. Show him you love him. One major problem that we're facing here is… he definitely feels scared… and lonely."

She nodded.

"And I think you need to give Jessica a nice hard lecture on being nicer. From what I hear, she doesn't seem to understand his struggles, but the bullying has to stop. He wants to be friends with her, and it's just making things worse."

She nodded again. "I will."

"I'll see you next week. Make sure you keep a very close eye on him."

"Ok… thank you…" She gave him the usual hug out of thanks and watched nervously as he left. Then, as soon as she thought she was alone, she let herself break down crying, thinking about the worst case scenarios about what was going to happen with her own son.

She wasn't alone, however. "…Mom?"

She jumped and turned to Daniel, who was apparently eavesdropping on them. She wiped her tears. "Hi, sweetie…"

He stared at her nervously. "…Do you think that I'm crazy…?"

She got down on her knee to get down to his level and hugged him. "No… no, of course not…"

"Then why are you crying…?"

She took a moment to respond. "I… You just worry me sometimes… but I promise that everything's gonna be fine… I promise you…"

He hugged her back, and began to cry a little himself. "…I'm scared, mom… I think there's something very wrong with me…"

"There's not… there's not…" She sniffed. "You're a smart and capable kid, Daniel…"

"Then why can't Jessica see me that way?" He suddenly broke down. "I just want to be her friend… but she won't let me… she thinks I'm a freak!"

"You're not a freak, Daniel… and Jessica doesn't see you that way…"

"Yes she does! It's what she told me!"

She sighed. "Don't listen to her… I… I'm going to talk to her… alright?"

He sniffed.

"Everything's going to be fine, Daniel…" She pet the back of his head. "I promise you…"

He wasn't even listening, though. Instead, his eyes were locked on a knife stand they had in the kitchen, which he could just barely see from this angle. His mother, meanwhile, had no idea.

* * *

As the night came around, the sun had peacefully set over the county, and the Murdock family had already finished up dinner. His parents were in the kitchen washing up the dishes while Daniel sat in the living room, staring out the window.

Jessica eventually came up to him. "Um… I… Mom told me to apologize…"

Daniel slowly turned to look at her.

"...So… sorry…" She followed up.

He just looked back out the window. He definitely wanted more than just a childish sorry at the moment, but he didn't care enough anymore to say it.

"...She also told me to give you a hug…" She eventually said, more awkwardly this time.

This seemed to comfort him more. He turned to face her again and sat up, before Jessica came up and gave him a rather awkward hug.

"I love you…" Jessica forced out, also under request from their mom.

Daniel didn't even care it was forced; he just wanted a friendship with his sister. He smiled a little and hugged her back.

Jessica soon broke the hug and turned to leave, but was stopped by Daniel.

"Hey, wait!"

She turned back, annoyed. "What?"

"I… do you wanna play tomorrow? The two of us? M-Maybe we can get mom to take us to the arcade! And we can have fun there!"

Jessica put some thought into it, and for a moment, Daniel sat in hopeful silence that she was finally gonna open up to him. Ultimately, however, Jessica just rolled her eyes and continued walking out.

He frowned. "…Jessica?"

"What?"

"Please? I…" He looked down. "I really wanna hang out with you... that's all I want…"

She suddenly groaned out of frustration and turned back to him again. "I already gave you your hug, what more do you want!?"

Daniel jumped and didn't respond, so this time, she finally stormed out of the room, leaving him alone. He slumped down in his chair, crying a little.

* * *

That night, at around 1 in the morning, Daniel had sat down in the living room, without his parents knowing, to watch some television. The TV was muted and had subtitles on, allowing him to sit in silence and watch, lazily leaned back in the couch. The voices that he heard from his own mind were starting to get to get louder and louder, especially tonight, and that of course made sleep incredibly hard.

_"Jessica doesn't love you…"_

_"Jessica doesn't like you…"_

_"Jessica will never be your friend…"_

_"Why keep trying? You'll be lonely forever, no matter what you do…"_

As the voices continued in what was at this point a chorus of loud whispers, he slumped further and further down in his chair. He was too stressed out to relax, and he almost felt like the room was collapsing in on him. And it was getting worse and worse by the second.

He did his best to focus on the television. It was an interesting show, definitely some kind of crime thriller. Probably something not meant for younger kids like himself, but it was the show he happened to turn the TV on to. What interested him, however, wasn't the characters or the plot; it was the violence and crime in the show.

At this particular moment, a criminal had just burned down an entire house, by spreading gasoline wherever he could and then lighting it, setting the whole living room to explode.

Daniel watched the screen intently as this happened, ignoring the voices as best as he could. This was just giving him ideas. From what he understood, they did have gasoline in the garage. And he was sure he could find matches or a proper lighter for the fire itself.

He wasn't quite sure what exactly he wanted. He just knew that his violent thoughts were getting worse and he didn't have very many options to vent it out. But, perhaps soon, if things didn't start going his way… he'd find a method.

* * *

A few days passed and the Murdocks went through their same general routine; except now, Daniel was getting much more irritated at small stuff and thus was suddenly getting much more prone to angry outbursts, especially at Jessica and his own mom. His mother was, of course, growing increasingly concerned.

The four had sat down at dinner like usual, and tonight, Daniel was just picking at his food. Jessica eyed him and rolled her eyes.

Their mom noticed as well. "…Daniel?"

"What?" He said, not looking at her.

"Don't just stare at your food, honey. It'll get cold."

"Whatever…" He continued as he was.

The mom sighed and watched him for a while, growing frustrated. Eventually, she suddenly grabbed his fork straight from his hand, stabbed some meat for him, and then held it up to his mouth. "Eat."

Daniel didn't appreciate that at all, though. He angrily swiped the fork from her hand, sending it flying across the room.

She gasped. "What has gotten into you!?"

"I'm not hungry!" He yelled.

She groaned and got up, but Daniel wasn't finished with his temper tantrum. He suddenly flipped over his plate as he got up to leave the room himself, and his food flew over to Jessica, getting all over her and mixing with her own food.

Jessica gasped as well in surprise as Daniel stormed out of the room. "Watch it, asshole!"

"Language!" Their dad yelled.

"Damn it, Daniel!" Their mom yelled, sighing as she went to clean up Daniel's mess. She turned to the dad as she helped clean the food off Jessica. "Can you please go talk to him?"

"Already on it…" He sighed, using a napkin to wipe his mouth before standing up.

He went down the hall to Daniel's room and attempted to open it, finding that he already locked it. "Daniel, open this door!"

"Leave me alone!" Daniel yelled back.

The dad sighed. Not wanting to play games, he went to locate a screwdriver before coming back and unlocking the door anyway. He entered angrily. "You are being a brat, you know that? Get your ass in there and apologize!" He pointed. "Now!"

Daniel wasn't listening, however. He was ducked in the corner of the room with his back facing him, hiding his face in his palms against the wall. The voices and the loud buzzing noise were getting too loud now, and he was quickly losing control.

Infuriated, his dad pressed on. "Daniel!"

He began weeping softly. "Please… just leave me alone…"

"Not until you apologize to Jessica and clean up your mess! Come on! Let's get to it!"

"Please…"

He began counting down. "5… 4…"

"Dad… please don't…"

"3... 2…"

"Dad!"

"1!" He suddenly went over and grabbed him.

Daniel, immediately pushed over the edge, began fighting back without any sort of hesitation, kicking and squirming against him. "Let me go!"

He picked him up and began carrying him out of the room. "Stop being a brat, Daniel! You wanna be grounded?"

Suddenly, Daniel grabbed his hand and bit it as hard as he could. The dad screamed, and attempted to pull away, but not before Daniel was actually able to break his skin with his teeth. When Daniel finally let go, his teeth coated in his ink, he pulled away with another pained scream, holding his hand in horror.

Angrily, Daniel went and grabbed a trophy from his dresser. It was a basic golden trophy, one that he had gotten from school just a few months ago, and despite his young age, it was about to be his best weapon. As hard as he could, he whammed his own father in the back of the bed with the trophy, instantly knocking him unconscious.

His dad collapsed before him, hitting his head on the ground, but Daniel still wasn't done. Gripping the trophy tightly, he brought down on him a few more times, as hard as he possibly could, growing more exhausted with each swing.

"You don't… fucking… LISTEN!" He yelled in pure anger and hatred. Soon, he calmed down, putting down the trophy. His father was currently lying in a growing puddle of his own ink. Realizing what he had just done, he gasped a little, backing up against the wall. Some tears escaped his eyes. He just murdered his own father. The man that raised him alongside his mother was now dead, by his own hand.

The mom, of course, heard the commotion and came to check on them. "Daniel?" As soon as she turned the corner and saw the mess of ink in front of her, she gasped, covering her mouth.

Daniel was sobbing against the wall when he saw his mom enter, barely looking up at her.

Feeling like she was gonna throw up, she suddenly ran back to the living room. "Jessica? Jessica?"

Jessica was still in the kitchen. "…What?"

Her mom was shaky and crying, obviously not in control at all. "C-Can you go out to the park for a little bit? Please?"

"Why?" She seemed annoyed and confused.

"J-Just… I-I have some stuff I need to take care of…" She began pushing her out the door. "Just come back in a bit? Please?"

"Mom… what's the matter? Did something happen?" She seemed a little more nervous now.

"JUST GO!" She suddenly snapped. "I'll explain later…"

She jumped and flinched, before leaving the house without another word.

Now alone, the mother then frantically ran back to the kitchen to grab the house phone, dialing 911, breaking down crying as she did so.

It didn't take long for her to notice, however, that Daniel had already thought ahead, grabbed a knife, and cut the phone line. She frantically reached for the power cord, seeing that it was cut, and dropped the phone. "Shit…"

"Mom?" Daniel was already standing in the kitchen, holding a knife.

She jumped. "D-Daniel?" She stared at him for a bit, still shaking and sobbing a little. "…W-What did you do?"

Daniel was still crying as well. "…He wouldn't leave me alone…"

"P-Please…" She knelt down next to him. "P-Put away the knife… and tell me what happened…"

He just pulled away, keeping the knife out of her reach.

"...D-Did you kill him?"

He ignored her. "…My psychologist says I'm sick… I know he said that to you… but he won't tell me… no one will tell me… you just want me to think I'm normal…"

"D-Daniel…" She was absolutely losing it. "P-Please give me the knife…"

"...There's something very wrong with me, Mom…"

"D-Daniel, just PLEASE give me the fucking knife!" She suddenly screamed.

He stared at her for several seconds in silence, before finally dropping the knife.

Desperately, his mom suddenly went to grab it, before returning to her position, still sobbing. "O-Ok… just… please… tell me… what happened…?"

He didn't say anything.

"DANIEL!" She suddenly screamed again. "JUST TELL ME! WHY WON'T YOU TELL ME!?"

A couple more tears escaped his eyes, but he still didn't say anything.

The next thing Daniel knew, his mother was unconscious before him as well, lying limp across the kitchen floor. It was only a few more minutes before the living was blown up in a gasoline explosion, burning the rest of the house down not long after.

* * *

**Present Day**

"The police never really figured out I brought a trophy to my dad's head, the fire burned up all the evidence. I was only ever caught for the fire itself…" Daniel began wrapping up his story. "So, I spent the next few years in a mental hospital, getting proper treatment, and then when I was 14… they let me out. I started putting all my focus into getting my revenge on Jessica… and finishing what I started… As soon as I heard a rumor about the Underdogs living in the city… I just knew that could've been my ticket to take her down."

Ward and Ayesha weren't even eating; they had gotten too invested in his story. Ayesha was especially into it, and was staring at him with a horny expression.

"I barely ever saw Jessica again after that day, but… she was on my mind the whole time… She'd appear in my dreams… The way I see it, she ruined my life… and she didn't even wanna give me a second chance."

Ward smiled a little, relaxing in his seat. "You… are surely talented."

"And stylish…" Ayesha giggled, feeling a bit wet down in a certain somewhere.

Daniel ignored Ayesha's horny stare and cleared his throat. "Because of Jessica, I have come to fully accept that even though she's dead now, I have a mission in this city. I may be sick, but so is Inkopolis. When you think about it, it's full of shitheads like Jessica… and my father. I want to clean up the world. Because I realize now that this is what I am. I am an Underdog. I am the Executioner."

Ward nodded, satisfied. "That's what I wanted to hear…"

He nodded back. "Good…"

Ayesha made another weird giggle, and the two ignored him. Ward smiled. "I think the time is coming that we show this city what we can do."

"...I agree." Daniel said.

"So… starting tomorrow… our Executioner will finally begin to show this city our message. We're going to burn them to the ground, and there is no Agent 3 or any New Squidbeak Splatoon to stop us. We are unstoppable now."

"I look forward to it." No longer hungry, Daniel decided to just stand up. "I promise you… the Executioner is about to become the most god damn feared terrorist this city has ever seen… and knowing how people are these days… it will bring fear and chaos to the streets."

"I look forward to it." Ward repeated, still smiling.

Daniel stepped out of the room, slipping on his Executioner mask on his way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was quite frankly a... disturbing chapter for me to write. Anyway, I just wanna add a quick note to say that I'm sorry not updating this story as often as I've been wanting. I know that I do still update faster than other authors out there, but compared to how fast I was able to write back in the NSS:U days, I just haven't been doing nearly as persistent, so, sorry for that. Still, however, I have some interesting plans for this month. For those of you who read NSS:OD, I am still doing a Halloween special for it scheduled for the end of this month, and I think it has some cool ideas in it so keep an eye on that if you want. While I work on that, I'll keep trying to update this story more over this month as well. Oh well, that's all I wanted to say, so, see you next time.


	8. Identity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica and Vanessa continue to bond. Meanwhile, Daniel and the Underdogs begin a dangerous campaign in Inkopolis.

Jessica sighed to herself as she leaned against the bathroom sink, spitting the toothpaste that was in her mouth down the drain. The water currently flowing from the faucet was a special kind of filtered water, Inkling-made in a way that wouldn't melt and splat people for touching it, meant entirely for bathing usage. She rinsed off and put away the toothbrush, before turning off the water and looking up at the mirror.

She wasn't even currently dressed; she had been in the bathroom now for a while cleaning herself. It was the first time in months she had even felt willing to do anything about her hygiene, and this was her rather desperate attempt to feel relaxed again. To feel something, at least. It didn't matter, however, as she still felt just empty, and like a failure.

Bathing wasn't the only thing she had been doing today, however; her hair was now much shorter, stopping just below her ears like the generalized haircut hairstyle, and she had morphed her primary ink color to a plain shade of black. She stared at herself in the mirror. At least now she could maybe go out in public again without fear of being recognized, but that wasn't the reason behind her makeover. The truth was, she was sick and tired of her old look. She was sick of being Jessica Murdock. She couldn't look in the mirror before without instantly being reminded of the team and the Agent 3 identity she let down.

Another several minutes passed before she lazily slipped on some fresh clothes, without bothering to put on underwear, as she finally headed out of the bathroom to the rest of the apartment. She had moved in with Vanessa at this point like they had discussed, but Vanessa was at work a fair amount of the time, so she had a lot of time to herself. Of course, with how she had been feeling lately, she wasn't really using the time to her advantage anyway, instead mostly lazily laying around and watching television. She had even stopped working out like she normally would back in the day.

* * *

Vanessa came home at her usual time, shoving the door open and carrying in fast food. "Hey, Jess, I-" She noticed Jessica's makeover, having left to work that morning with Jessica still owning her longer hair and orange ink. "Woah…"

Jessica, who was on the couch watching Vanessa's TV, looked at her. "What?"

"Nothing… just… you look different."

"Whatever…" She turned back to the TV.

"I…. It looks nice. Y-You like nice. Anyway…" She assured her, before holding up her food as if Jessica was still looking. "I got food."

Jessica and Vanessa sat down at the table, and Vanessa laid out their food on plates. "Bon appétit." She said, giving Jessica her classic smile.

Jessica ignored her and silently ate her own food, going slowly as usual.

Vanessa watched her for a bit, leaning back in her chair with her feet resting on the table. "…How come you always eat so slowly?"

She sighed, looking at her. "…I… don't know… it's weird…" She looked at her. "I guess… just… ever since I woke up from my coma, it's like… shit like food just doesn't have taste anymore…"

She looked at her curiously. "How can you not taste it?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, I mean… I can literally taste it, but… I have no appetite anymore. I only eat anything because… well… honestly, I don't know why… I should just let myself waste away, shouldn't I?"

"Hey…" She sat up. "What did I tell you about that kind of talk?"

"Why do you care? It's just how I feel…" She set her food aside. "I mean, I just… no longer even know what my point in life is… why the hell am I still around? I used to be Agent 3. I used to be Jessica. Now I'm just… I don't feel like anything… I'm nothing…"

"You're an incredibly cute and attractive woman who should be out getting all the guy's numbers in Inkopolis."

Jessica just rolled her eyes.

"I just wish you'd see how badass you are… I mean, I'd trade an organ to live a life like you. To be a vigilante."

"Not worth it." Jessica said.

"Jess, you've helped people." She got closer to her. "You save lives. Failure or not, you are a total hero."

Jessica didn't respond to that.

"I just wanna be like you. Seriously. Because you're a rockstar… a totally sexy one…" She was getting very uncomfortably close to Jessica's face at this point.

Jessica sighed and backed off a little bit. "You're getting flirty again."

"I know…" She winked.

She squinted at her.

"When was the last time you've even had some proper fun with someone?"

Jessica sighed, reluctantly telling her. "…Never…"

She stared at her. "Seriously?"

"What? I mean… I've never really cared for that, as much. People. Relationships. Whatever."

"...You've never even been interested in anyone?"

Jessica took another moment to respond. She wasn't even sure why she was letting herself getting into specifics like this, but she did generally feel comfortable around Vanessa. "…Well, interested, sure. I mean… I used to know this Octoling… even though we've literally tried to kill each other, she used to hate me, and she thinks I'm dead now…"

"The Bridgett girl I've heard of?"

She shut up. She had said too much.

"Heh… I like that you can talk to me about that stuff. Kinda makes me wish we had maintained better contact throughout the years." Vanessa said, sipping her drink.

"Whatever you say…"

"I just never imagined that the infamous Agent 3 would turn out to be a virgin still."

Jessica suddenly groaned. "You just keep fucking droning on forever, don't you?"

Vanessa giggled in response. "Maybe I just like talking with you…"

"...It's… fine…" She seemed more embarrassed now, which was probably the most emotion outside of anger and frustration she had expressed in a while.

She got closer again. "I just want to help you feel better… you've been in such a funk the past few months… and I can help you…" She leaned in, getting dangerously close. "I can always help you…"

Jessica, of course, looked rather uncomfortable, but kept a steady posture. "You're insane…"

"Possibly…" Slowly and against Jessica's will, she pressed her lips against hers.

Jessica didn't fight back however, as this was actually her first kiss. And, strangely, it was definitely making her feel a bit better. It probably would've felt much better if she wasn't so generally depressed, she realized, but for once, she was feeling something.

Vanessa broke the kiss. "Come on…"

Jessica stared at her, actually a bit into it. She wasn't quite sure what she was feeling, and she definitely had no feelings toward Vanessa of the sort, but she was definitely feeling something. That's what she wanted, to feel something again. Despite her generally thinking this probably wasn't even a good idea, she quickly shoved her thoughts aside and decided she wanted more, and leaned back in to return the kiss.

Vanessa grinned as she kissed her rougher this time. Knowing Jessica's general nature, she figured neither of them cared about getting rough, so she decided to just go all out, sitting on her lap. She stuck her tongue in her mouth, exploring.

* * *

A few minutes passed before the door to Vanessa's room was slammed open, and Vanessa rushed her partner for the night into the room, heavily making out with the whole way. Jessica did seem a bit clueless to what she was doing overall, and since she was walking backward, she accidentally walked straight into the dresser, knocking stuff down. Despite her cluelessness, however, Vanessa wasn't holding back at all, and was more than happy to take complete charge until she learned. She eagerly took Jessica's shirt off for her, already leaving her completely topless, and she went down to lick at one of her breasts as she eased her on the bed.

Jessica sighed and laid back, her breathing heavy; she had definitely never felt pleasure like this before, and she was actually enjoying it, letting Vanessa do whatever she wanted. "…You do this a lot, don't you?"

"I do…" Vanessa responded, continuing to treat her breasts. She briefly stopped to strip herself down to her underwear, and then immediately continued.

Jessica decided to relax and enjoy the feel for a while, getting increasingly warm and horny. She felt herself getting a little bit wet. "…I want more…" She eventually said.

Vanessa agreed without a word, kissing down her abdomen until she reached her pants, which she swiftly pulled off, leaving her completely nude.

Jessica sat up and looked at her somewhat nervously; she had never been exposed like this with another person in the room, especially not with a person who was ready to make her feel good.

Vanessa put a hand on her chest to ease her back down, grinning at her seductively. "You ready?"

She hesitated for a moment, but then nodded. "...Please…"

An extremely pleasureful sensation struck her all at once as she felt Vanessa's lips mash directly against her clitoris. A soft moan involuntarily escaped her mouth, and she leaned her head back on the bed. She gripped the sheets, clenching her fist.

Vanessa kept going as she was, licking and sucking around her folds, and Jessica grew increasingly tense, occasionally giving off small moans as a pressure built inside her. Deciding to get even more wild, Vanessa brought her fingers into the mix, rubbing her folds before sticking a couple fingers in.

"F-Fuck…" Jessica said in surprise, arching her back.

"That's right… moan for me…" Vanessa said softly, getting rougher.

As the pleasure built inside Jessica, so did the pressure, and she continued growing more and more tense. It wasn't too much longer before she felt herself about to release. "F-Fuck!" She repeated, louder this time.

Vanessa could feel Jessica twitch a little in pleasure; she was definitely close. She plunged her fingers back and forth as fast and roughly as she could to finish the job. "Let it all out…"

All at once, the growing pressure came to a screeching halt as she climaxed, and a loud moan escaped her mouth as she violently shook and relaxed against the bed. It took a moment for her to relax and control her breathing.

Vanessa giggled and lapped up all the fluids she could, before moving back up to kiss her. "I've always wondered what it'd be like to get in bed with Agent 3 herself…"

"Stop talking…" Jessica sighed, kissing her back. She was getting a bit better at it.

Vanessa broke the kiss and unhooked her own bra, letting it fall off and giving Jessica a nice view of her breasts. It was also, of course, Jessica's first time seeing anything of the sort in person. "Come on…" Vanessa whispered. "My turn…"

Deciding to take some action herself, Jessica took a bold move and grabbed Vanessa, throwing her down on the bed and crawling on top of her. Vanessa giggled again, waiting to see what Jessica would do. "I'm all yours…"

Jessica didn't say anything, instead leaning down and roughly kissing her, preparing to please her for the night.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Outside a Bank in Inkopolis**

"Security cameras are shut down. I'm sure they'll suspect an incoming robbery by the time we walk inside." An Octoling said as he continued typing on his laptop.

Daniel, Ayesha, and some Underdog Octarians working directly under them were currently hiding out in a van, parked across the street from a bank.

"They won't be able to do anything about it." Daniel replied.

"...With all due respect…" One other Octoling said. "What exactly was the point of shutting down the cameras? What's that gonna accomplish for us?"

"Fear." He said plainly. "It creates fear. We want them to think we're coming, because if they do, they'll be afraid. Or anxious, at the very least. And anxious is all we need."

"Right…" He understood.

Ayesha gave her usual giggle, staring at Daniel with her trademark horny stare. "I love the way you do things… the way you take control…"

"Stay focused, Ayesha…" He sighed. "We have a job here."

She frowned and went back to preparing her arsenal of knives. "This little piggy popped a stomach…" She said as she put one knife in her belt. "This little piggy slit a throat…" She continued, putting away one knife with each line.

Daniel sighed in annoyance, but silently prepared himself for the mission anyway, putting on some body armor. Once everyone was ready, he looked at everyone. "Alright… let's get this done…" He slipped on the Executioner mask.

* * *

**Inside**

"Um, boss…" The security manager said, walking up to the general manager of the bank. "The security cameras went down. We've been hacked."

"Any money stolen digitally?" The manager asked.

"No… strangely enough…" He said. "I mean, they could have… they were in our system. They could've done whatever, but all they did was shut down the cameras."

"That is odd…" He admitted in response. "Probably dealing with idiots then. You know what to do. Tell your team to prepare for a potential attack and activate the standard robbery protocol. Dumbasses won't even be able to get it."

The security manager just nodded in response before reaching for his radio and walking off, commanding the security team to do so.

A mere moment passed before the entire bank went on lockdown, the doors automatically locking and gates coming down over certain areas and locking as well. This, of course, prompted confused looks from everyone inside the building that wasn't in the security team.

"Nothing to worry about, folks." The manager used his radio to call out on the building's com system. "Just some temporary safety precautions. We'll unlock the doors again shortly once the situation is handled. Carry on with your business, please." He assured everyone.

The building calmed down as he said this, although of course some of the more paranoid people still looked a bit worried. The manager himself was admittedly feeling a bit anxious as well, but was aware that the security team knew what they were doing, and decided to just go back to his usual business, heading down to his office.

He didn't make it far, however, as to his dismay, the whole building could hear gunfire coming from outside. They were definitely getting attacked now. Nervously, he turned to a nearby guard. "You! Get on top of this, will ya?"

The guard nodded and headed to investigate.

With nothing left to do, the manager stood about anxiously, actually worried now that something bad was about to happen. He did know, at least, that the attackers couldn't get past their lockdown procedures… right?

Unfortunately, he was wrong. Suddenly, explosions rain out as entire holes were blown out of the ceiling, and the next thing the manager knew, several Octolings in full body armor dropped in, with extremely powerful chargers. They immediately began firing at the people inside, quickly showing that these weren't regular guns at all; they had militarized high pressure ink instead, the shots of which were actually lethal compared to the simple splatting a normal gun would do.

Screams rang out among the building as the Octolings cleaned up, many innocent people, guards, and employees alike dropping dead where they stood.

The manager looked around in pure fear, and being the coward that he was, decided to book it straight to his office. Again, however, he didn't even get far, as the Executioner himself managed to shoot him right in the shoulder. He screamed out in pain and fell down.

Leaving the rest of his team to clean out the rest of the building, Daniel dropped his gun and began approaching the manager. _"Set the explosives and begin the countdown." _He said into the Underdog's com system.

The manager was already crying in pain when the Executioner arrived and leaned over him, covering the hole in his shoulder. "…T-The money is all in the vaults!" He screamed out. "Please don't kill me! You don't have to kill anyone over this, please!"

Daniel smirked a little under his mask, but of course no one could see. _"We're not here for your money."_

"W-What?" He was obviously confused. "This is a bank, for god's sake! Just… take what you want and get out of here! Please!" He began sobbing. "Please don't kill me…"

_"Begging won't get you anywhere…" _Daniel said simply. _"If you want my advice, I say you better start mentally preparing yourself to face whatever's on the other side instead of begging."_

"P-Please…" He continued.

The security manager, meanwhile, was also finding himself in a bit of a bad situation, and also attempted to flee, but was quickly interrupted by a knife flying directly into his stomach. He yelped and fell to his knees.

"Oh, sh, sh, shh…" Ayesha whispered with a giggle, walking up to him. She grabbed the knife, and while the security manager thought she was gonna pull it out, she instead twisted it. "Do you like pain…?"

He just gagged, ink pouring from his wound and his mouth.

"Well? Do you?" She continued, twisting the knife some more.

He desperately shook his head no, unable to say anything.

"Pain is the only real feeling we have…" She said. "So if you don't like it… what else do you feel?"

He still couldn't really respond, bleeding out where he sat.

"Fine… I'll make it quicker…" She sounded disappointed. She pulled out the knife and then jammed it into his neck, watching as he stopped breathing and fell limp in her arms. She smiled and pulled it out again, this time licking all the ink she could off the metal.

The bank as a whole at this point was practically being filled with obscene amounts of ink that was spilling out of everyone they just killed. The manager, who was still alive beneath Daniel, was sobbing loudly at this point, scared out of his mind.

"We've cleared out pretty much the whole building." One Octoling said to Daniel. "And the countdown is set. We have 3 minutes."

_"Thank you." _Daniel said, before turning back to the manager. _"Because I'm nice, I'll let you live all the way up until the fire. I hope it feels good to you…"_

"Please don't!" He screamed through his tears. "What the hell do you even want from us!? What do you have to gain from killing everyone inside a bank and taking no money!? Huh!?"

He stood up, preparing to leave. _"We just want to send a message." _He began walking out, ushering to all the Underdogs inside. _"Let's move!"_

"Please!" The manager screamed desperately. "Please! Please don't kill me! PLEASE! I'LL GIVE YOU ANYTHING! ALL THE MONEY IN THE WORLD, IT'S YOURS! JUST PLEASE!"

"Disappointing, some people…" Ayesha muttered to Daniel as they walked out. "They don't know how to embrace the pain… how to embrace the end… they don't realize that's all life is…" She then giggled.

_"And that's how the cowards fall." _Daniel replied.

* * *

Police sirens sounded off in the distance as the Underdogs all collectively arrived back at the multiple vans they parked nearby. Daniel took off his mask, unaware that there were currently people nearby recording everything, as he stopped to watch the fireworks.

A mere moment passed before the whole bank lit up in a massive explosion, sending fire hurling out the front doors and windows, raining down sparks over the street.

Satisfied, Daniel hopped in the back of their van and closed the doors, as it took off and drove away. The police arrived shortly after, only to find absolutely nothing but a massive crime scene.

* * *

**That Night**

After a pleasant night together, Vanessa and Jessica were lying together in Vanessa's bed, Vanessa fast asleep with a look of general satisfaction on her face and one arm draped around Jessica.

Jessica, on the other hand, hadn't gotten any sort of sleep yet. She wasn't even tired. Her mind was still racing. Was sleeping with Vanessa even a good idea? Was starting anything with her even a good idea? She definitely didn't have any feelings toward Vanessa; she wasn't ready to be with anyone at all, and what she allowed tonight was just another desperate attempt for her to feel something, she realized. At least this time, it worked, she did feel something, and it was definitely pleasant.

In the end, however, it probably didn't matter, because the pleasure was overall short lived and here she was again, once again feeling empty inside, despite the nude woman cuddling with her in her sleep. Sighing, she decided to give up on sleep and carefully moved Vanessa's arm, getting up. As Vanessa remained peacefully asleep, she slipped on the clothes she had on before, and walked out, realizing they abandoned their dinner on the kitchen table. She rolled her eyes and felt how cold it had all gotten, before throwing everything in the trash.

She relaxed in the living room and turned on the television, turning on the closed captioning and muting it just to be respectful to Vanessa in the other room, and began randomly flipping channels. Her usual routine.

Several bored minutes passed before she passed the news, where people seemed to be detailing some crazy breaking news event. Whatever it was, it was definitely big. Somewhat interested, she stopped at the news, even if it did generally remind her of her Agent 3 days.

Overhead shots of a burning bank in Inkopolis filled the screen; they seemed to be describing some crazy terrorist attack, in which a terrorist group attacked the bank, killed everyone they could inside, and then blew it up, all without taking any money. No one seemed to know why they even targeted the bank.

Things only got worse, though. Apparently, random passerbys nearby had filmed the building outside during the moments where it exploded, and Jessica's eyes widened when they showed the footage.

The Executioner, the very same Executioner who stabbed her and left her for dead in the lake, could be seen on the video, walking out of the bank alongside Ayesha. She stood up and walked toward the screen to get a better look, flashbacks rushing in. It was definitely him. This was the Underdogs.

Jessica found herself laser focused on the screen when she saw that the Executioner was actually taking off his mask, right there on camera, seemingly unaware he was being filmed in the first place. The person who was recording this video was a bit far out, obviously, so even with the camera zoomed in all the way, it was a bit hard to see faces. But she knew that hair, and the general figure.

Many thoughts raced through Jessica's head as everything immediately clicked together.

"...Daniel." She said out loud.


	9. Childhood Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica and Vanessa go on their own separate investigations into the Underdogs, and Jessica relives some old childhood memories.

**The Next Morning**

"It was him… I'm telling you…" Jessica continued. She was currently getting ready to leave the house, getting dressed.

"How do you know?" Vanessa replied. "Because you saw someone on TV who happened to have the same hairstyle as your brother?"

"It _was _my brother… I'm not an idiot…"

"I'm not saying you are, Jess. Just… how can you be sure it was him?"

"Because it all makes sense. He joined the Splatoon, gave us the intel on the Underdogs, and that was when everything went to shit. Then he… he came after me… with that mask… it can't be a coincidence." She slipped on a jacket.

Vanessa sighed. She did have a point. "…Then… let me come with you."

"Why?" She zipped up a bag.

"Because if you're going back out on your Agent 3 shit then I want in. I can help you."

Jessica sighed in frustration. "One. I am _not _going back out on my Agent 3 shit, this is something entirely different. This is something… much more personal… to me. Second. No. You can't help, this is my business, not yours, get lost."

"...I thought your Agent 3 life was personal to you."

"...Not anymore…" She draped the backpack over her shoulder as she grabbed Vanessa's car keys from her. "I'm not Agent 3 anymore. We've been over that a million times. This is just… I have to talk to him again…"

"But this is Underdogs territory and you know that."

"I don't care… they're not by business anymore."

"Yes they are. If you're looking for Daniel and your theory is correct, then you're looking for the Underdogs. Again." She put her arms on her shoulders. "Jess… I can help you…"

Jessica stared back. "...I'd be putting you in danger."

"I don't care. Plus, come on, don't you owe me something after that great night I gave you last night?"

She rolled her eyes. "I took it from your pleasured moans that I already paid you back for that…" She stepped away, and started walking toward the door.

Vanessa looked down for a second before turning back to her. "So that's it? You're just gonna… take my car and leave me here alone? Do you even have a driver's licence?"

"Driving can't be that hard." She responded casually.

"Just let me come with you! That's all I'm asking! I can drive and ensure you don't get arrested for not having one, and I'll help you."

"...I'll be back…" Jessica finished as she disappeared out the door, ignoring her.

Vanessa sat on her couch, mumbling to herself. "…God… she's kind of a bitch…"

* * *

It didn't take Jessica long at all to drive through the city to her destination, to the bank where the massacre took place. Her driving was of course sloppy, especially at first, and she didn't understand how exactly to navigate traffic, but she was able to manage Vanessa's car just well enough to get her there without getting into trouble.

There was still lots of smoke pouring out of the bank, and there were fire fighters and lots of police on the scene. Jessica found herself staring at the smoke a little; it was giving her flashbacks to when Daniel burned her own home down when she was a kid. She blinked and sighed, forcing her eyes off of it, before she slipped on some sunglasses and got out of the car.

Luckily, her new makeover did make it hard for people to just instantly recognize her, but she did realize she could still have a problem if anyone were to get a good look of her face, which she hoped the sunglasses would help with. She slipped on her hood and kept her head down a little as she walked around the area, navigating for clues.

Of course, she couldn't just walk up to the bank. It was still on fire in areas and it was an active crime scene after all. What she could do, without getting recognized as Agent 3, was keep her distance and maybe listen in on the officers for any details she could get.

Many minutes passed as she hung around, pretending to be doing so casually, as the police talked among themselves about the incident. Unfortunately, she wasn't really able to pick up on anything she didn't already know.

Eventually, to her dismay, a lone police officer noticed her hanging around doing nothing, and came up to her. "Ma'am… we would suggest not hanging out so close to the crime scene."

Jessica shyly looked at him. She decided to act out a bit of a fake accent. "…Right. I'm sorry. My bad. Just…" She looked around, playing dumb. "I was looking for a coffee shop around here. And there's police everywhere, that… kinda makes it hard."

"There is a coffee shop near here, yes, but please go elsewhere for coffee ma'am."

She had to keep herself from sighing in frustration. So much for that plan. "Right… I will… Thank you, officer…"

Then, the officer suddenly began staring her down. "…You know… there's something familiar about you."

She grew tense. "…Yeah? I… doubt you do know me, so…" She put her head back down and started walking away.

Then, the officer suddenly snapped his fingers, smiling a little. "It's the hair and the hood. You look like my cousin. That's why you looked familiar. Sorry, just sometimes, the hair kinda speaks to me, ya know? Some say I pay more attention to the hair than the face."

Jessica stopped and gave him a sarcastic smile in return. "…I'm sure your cousin is very beautiful then."

"Oh, you bet. Have a good rest of your day, ma'am." He turned to head back to the main crime scene.

Jessica took a deep breath as she returned to Vanessa's car and left.

* * *

Little did Jessica know, that about an hour after she left, Vanessa also arrived at the crime scene for her own investigation, except she had to walk to arrive there instead without her car. She casually went up to the crime scene where all the police officers were investigating as if she owned the place, and of course was quickly stopped by Detective Johnson.

"Ma'am, this is an active crime scene, we can't let you be here." He said, walking up to her with his hand raised.

Vanessa, however, didn't even seem to care. She looked at her and smiled a little. "…You must be Detective Grant Johnson. The guy who led the arrests on all those New Squidbeak Splatoon vigilantes." She realized she sounded a little bit creepy. "…I do my own research."

"...Indeed I am." He confirmed, but still didn't seem too pleased.

"...You ever find the Agent 3 girl?" She teased.

"If you know about that case, then you should know that Agent 3 went MIA a couple months back and is now presumed deceased."

"Right… whatever…" She feigned cluelessness.

"Now, ma'am, I'm gonna have to ask you to vacate the area, because we-" She lightly grabbed her arm to help lead her away, but was interrupted.

"Hold on. I came here for a reason." Vanessa continued. "My name is Vanessa Reyes, I'm with the…" She pulled out a fake badge that she had forged a while back. "The Inkopolis Daily. The news organization."

"I've heard of it." He sighed. "I'm not sure how much we can tell the press yet…"

"I just wanna ask you a couple questions. Then I'll be out of your beautiful mush-cut hair."

He didn't seem all the pleased by her compliments, but nonetheless nodded. "…You may ask a couple… and make it quick."

She pulled out a notebook just to help her look professional. "So… let's start with who the people that massacred the bank are. What do you know?"

"Jesus Christ…" He shook his head in annoyance and sighed. "Like I said, I don't know what we can tell the press…"

"This isn't information that will go public." She assured him. "We're just collecting data…"

He didn't seem to believe her, but continued anyway. "…We believe it was a group known as the Underdogs."

"Never heard of it." She lied.

"Oh, I don't expect you to have. They're like ghosts, if it's even a real organization… We do know that if they're real, it's a group the Splatoon was actively hunting. Now it's the police's job."

She scribbled down notes just to uphold her little act. "And what do you know about these… Underdogs?"

"...Too little." He admitted. "We don't even completely understand yet why they'd just randomly massacre a bank and take no money. The theory going around is that they were trying to send a message…"

"A message about what?"

He didn't respond.

"I see… so… we're dealing with terrorists here who might be hinting to a larger terrorism plan…" She guessed.

"I didn't say that." He said, but it was obvious that he agreed anyway.

"But you thought it."

He again didn't respond.

"Hm…" She was now finding herself veering off from her objective, but continued anyway, wanting to mess with him a little. "So… how do you plan on finding these Underdogs?"

He stared at her in annoyance for a moment before answering. "…Ms. Reyes, the IPD and I are doing everything we can to ensure the capture of these terrorists and the well-being of this city."

"That didn't answer my question…"

"...What game are you trying to play with me here?"

"I'm just concerned for the city. These… terrorists could be a genuine threat if they're up to what we think they're up to. Just what do you plan to do if we are in the wake of a larger terrorism play here?"

"It's like I said, we are doing-"

"Not like it matters though." She interrupted him. "I'm not so sure the police are enough anymore..."

"Excuse me?" He was getting very frustrated now.

"Think about it. Those two times the Great Zapfish went missing… who solved that? The police? Or the New Squidbeak Splatoon?"

He again didn't respond.

"...And just how many times are you planning on ignoring my questions?"

"Are we still asking questions that have to do with the bank massacre or are we just playing games?" He asked bitterly.

She sighed. "…The former. Obviously."

"I don't have time for this…" He sighed. "If you wanna question someone on the Underdogs and go all smartass on them instead, I can give you the one potential lead we have on the Underdogs. And only because he's probably useless…"

This sparked her interest despite the last part. "Who?"

"An Octoling named Trey Jefferson. He's currently under probation from the IPD."

"Where can I find him?"

He gave her a potential location of where he usually works at before walking away. "Now get the hell out of my crime scene…"

Vanessa rolled her eyes and began searching for her new lead.

* * *

**Lishawn County**

Jessica, meanwhile, was already out of leads herself, and was growing a bit desperate. Later on that day, the sun was starting to set as she silently drove to her destination; the childhood home where she grew up, Lishawn County.

It was a truly beautiful place, and despite the bad things that have happened here, Jessica felt a strange sense of peace wash over her as she drove up. She was driving past places that she recognized from when she was a kid, like the small town that was nearby where she lived, multiple parks and playgrounds, and then of course, finally, her old neighborhood.

She soon pulled up to where the Murdock residence used to be, and got out of the car. The house, at this point, was completely gone, the burned remains having been cleaned up and removed, and nothing but dirt remained. Apparently, no one had ever bothered to build a new house where it stood, leaving an empty slot in the neighborhood.

Despite the fact that her house was gone, however, nostalgic memories were still flooding in. It was making her feel something, even if it was more sadness than happiness. She found herself staring at the empty dirt field where her house used to be, and began picturing what her house used to look like, in as much detail as her brain could possibly recall. She imagined it down to the window shapes, the door type, the color of the walls, even to the small garden of flowers they had in the front yard, each flower having a specific color.

As she pictured her house in more and more detail, she was soon also able to picture… old memories, right there on the spot. Now she could picture herself and Daniel, goofing off on the grass, eating ice cream and giggling.

_"I spy… with my little eye…" Young Jessica said, closely examining her ice cream cone as she counted. "Um… 100 nuts." She said, taking a blind and quite inaccurate guess without actually counting._

_"That's a lot of nuts…" Daniel replied._

_"Around 100… I dunno… it's a lot of nuts…" Jessica continued before take a bite. "Now it's less."_

_Daniel giggled and took a larger bite out of his own ice cream as if he was trying to compete with her. "I can bite off more."_

_"Nuh-uh!" Jessica yelled, as they then began competing to see who could bite off more topping nuts, before soon, they had both eaten all of them, leaving just the ice cream. "Race ya to the finish!" She began desperately licking at her ice cream._

_"Wait up!" Daniel followed suit with his own ice cream, and at the end of their little contest, was able to finish first. "Yes! I win!"_

_"Hell!" Jessica yelled._

_"Language, honey!" Their mom called from the front porch._

_"...Sorry, mom…" She replied awkwardly, before finishing up her own ice cream._

_"I win and you lose!" Daniel pointed at her victoriously. "You owe me a soda!"_

_"I do not!" Jessica replied. "You owe me… another ice cream cone! For being a dork!"_

_"I am not a dork, you are!" Daniel whined._

_"Stop it with the insults…" Their mom interjected again._

_"Sorry, mom…" Jessica replied, before turning back to Daniel. "If you wanna see which one of us is the dork… then uh… let's race!" She shot up in excitement. "Yeah! Race time!"_

_"Yes!" Daniel shot up just as excitedly._

_"Don't go too far!" Their mom interjected a final time._

_The siblings lined up on the sidewalk, both giggling and actually having a fun time together. "Ok… so let's… see who can reach the playground first!" Jessica announced._

_Daniel got prepared in an over-dramatic way. "Get ready to eat my dust, kid!"_

_"You first, you dork!" Jessica grinned._

_"YOU first, you dork!" Daniel repeated. "On the count of… um… 5…" They leaned forward. "5… 4…"_

_"1!" Jessica suddenly sped off, going as fast as her little legs could carry her._

_"Hey, w-wait!" Daniel sped off similarly in a desperate attempt to catch up._

Adult Jessica's eyes opened again as she snapped from her memory getaway, and she looked around. Now all she could think about were the good times she used to have with Daniel… before everything was ruined. Looking back, perhaps it was her own fault. She was definitely a brat as a kid, and she was aware Daniel had issues. Then again, she didn't understand the gravity of Daniel's issues at the time, either.

Sighing, she found herself walking in the direction in which the siblings had ran off to in her memory, leaving her car behind. She ended up studying all of the houses around her as she walked, as if she was hypnotized, trying to collect all the possible childhood feels she could as if with a net.

* * *

**That Night**

**Inkopolis**

Vanessa made her way down to a downtown area, following the location that Detective Johnson had given her, which she wrote down on her notepad just so that she didn't forget. Downtown Inkopolis, of course, wasn't exactly a nice part of the city, and was where lots of abandoned buildings sat in a state of decay while junkies roamed the street.

Vanessa, ignoring the junkies that surrounded her, made her way down to a small workshop building, and let herself in. The place seemed mostly abandoned, but had loud rock music playing, and she soon saw that there were a couple Octolings working on building projects inside. They all looked at her as she entered.

Vanessa cleared her throat. "I'm looking for Trey Jefferson!"

An Octoling, with green punk hair and a police-issued ankle monitor around his ankle. "Who's asking?"

"Vanessa Reyes, with the… Inkopolis Daily." She pulled out her fake badge again.

He looked at her somewhat nervously, with a hint of frustration on his face. "…What do you want with me?"

"So you're Mr. Jefferson, then?" She walked up. "Mind if I ask you a couple questions?"

"Yes, I mind."

She sighed. "Ok… What if I say please?"

"My answer would still be no."

"Come on… maybe I can give you something in return for a couple minutes of your time?"

"Like what?"

"Like… a blowjob?" She shrugged.

A couple of the Octolings in the room chuckled audibly, and Trey himself seemed to become interested. "...Aight. I'll let you ask a couple…" He grinned a little.

"Awesome." She sat down at the nearest table, and Trey did the same. She looked around the room, seeing the projects they were working on. "…Watcha working on here?"

"Cheap tables. Cheap chairs. Maybe a shelf or two." He pointed at his ankle monitor. "I used to be a druggie, but I'm under constant police watch now. This is just a way to keep myself occupied and maybe make some money at the same time."

She looked around at some of their more cheap looking products. "…Doesn't look like you'd make a whole lot with this job."

"Oh, I don't, I'd probably make more overall by working at Grizzco. But the work is fun enough for me, so I stick with it."

"Respectable…" She pulled out her notebook. "But, let's get down to business, shall we? I want… to know everything you know about the Underdogs. As much as you can give me."

His more laid-back attitude suddenly seemingly melted, and he frowned at her. "…How do you know about that?"

"The police and the leaked data from the New Squidbeak Splatoon."

Trey looked around nervously, and as Vanessa looked around as well, she saw that everyone else in the workshop had stopped what they were doing and pulled out weapons.

"We… don't need to get violent here." Vanessa continued nervously. "I'd rather not get splatted today…"

"Oh, we won't just splat you… we'll kill you." Trey replied, standing up. "You're outta your mind coming here."

Vanessa continued to look around, and saw that more people were walking toward her, without completely approaching her, just standing there in a threatening way.

"Guys… come on…" Vanessa said, continuing to look around. She then looked back at Trey. "I take it from your reaction that you are involved with them…"

"Shut up, bitch. Just shut up." Trey replied angrily, also looking incredibly nervous.

"...What do they have over you?" She asked.

Suddenly, Trey leaned forward and grabbed his gut, as if something was causing him pain, and he leaned against the table.

"...What's wrong?" She asked stupidly. "Something in your gut? Eat too much candy today?"

"Bitch, I said shut up!" He suddenly pulled out a knife, gritting his teeth from whatever was bothering her.

Vanessa stood up nervously, seeing how close the knife was, as she backed away.

"...Get the hell out of here…" Trey said desperately. Vanessa opened her mouth as if to say something, but he interrupted her. "Now!"

Normally, she wouldn't have listened, but thanks to the many weapons in the room that were currently making her nervous, she decided to just leave. She was, however, stopped on the way out.

"...Might I offer you some advice?" Trey asked her, stopping her. His pain seemed to be calming down a little.

Vanessa nervously turned to look at him, standing by the doorway. "…Hm?"

"Stay the hell away from the Underdogs." He said. "They place things inside you… they give you pain…"

She looked down at his gut curiously.

"And then you'll never sleep the same way again…" He finished.

Vanessa didn't say anything more, and with that, she silently left. All of the Octolings in the room put their weapons away, and some of them even sighed out of relief. Trey sat back down, nervously holding his gut.

* * *

**Lishawn County**

As night soon hit Lishawn County as well, Jessica was then finding herself walking through various destinations in the area, each one recognizable to her. The playground. The park in general. Other neighborhoods. Her old elementary school. In some places, she made brief stops in order to lean down and touch dirt or grass, maybe pulling out a blade or two, just like she would as a kid.

Many memories of each location were flooding in as she walked past, and many of them involved Daniel, and the good times they had. She only ever took a seat in a small town, which was laid out by buildings like shops and other locations. She stopped to take a seat at the bench.

Of course, even this bench had some memories behind it for her to recall. She closed her eyes.

_"So…" Young Jessica started. She was sitting with Daniel on the very same bench, staring up at the night sky, swinging her legs. "What do you wanna be when ya grow up?" She suddenly asked Daniel._

_"...I wanna be a superhero." He eventually said._

_She giggled. Me too…"_

_"Captain Daniel!" He did a heroic pose._

_"Spider-Jessica!" Jessica made a cheesy web-slinging sound effect with her mouth while doing a Spider-Squid pose._

_"Heheh…" Daniel chuckled. "I'd be the most awesome superhero. Like ever. I'd, like… live in Inkopolis. And I'd do superhero things!"_

_"Me too!" Jessica replied. "I can swing across the buildings there with my… spider powers!"_

_"We'd save people!"_

_"Yeah!"_

_Daniel calmed down a little, looking at Jessica with a smile. "Maybe we can be like a crime-fighting duo… you and me."_

_"Nah… Spider-Jessica works alone."_

_"Well… we'd be able to save more people together."_

_"Eh…"_

_Daniel looked back up at the sky. "It's like how mom is always telling us… we can help people, ya know? She's always telling us to be kind and help others…"_

_"I don't understand it." Jessica shrugged._

_"I kinda do… I think…" He smiled. "That's what being a hero is all about, isn't it?"_

_"Yeah… I guess…" She smiled as well. "We can be heroes together!"_

_"We save the world!" Daniel cheered. "Save the city!"_

_"We're gonna be the most awesomenesst superheroes ever!"_

_"That's not a word."_

_"Is it now because I say it is."_

_Daniel giggled, which prompted a giggle from Jessica as well. "I like being the hero already…"_

Adult Jessica then opened her eyes again as she forcefully snapped herself away from her memories. She looked down at herself, and then around, and her mind was quickly going back to the darker person she had now become, as well as the evil person that Daniel has become.

_'Where did we go wrong?' _She thought to herself. It was almost as if the world around her now was dark and colorless, at least compared to how things used to be. The bright life she used to live.

As all her happy memories were now being replaced with her much darker present day thoughts, Jessica broke down into tears on the spot, allowing herself to finally cry out all her emotions right there on the bench.


	10. Sibling Rivalry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vanessa finds herself fearing for her life in an attack from the Underdogs.

**The Next Day**

**Underdogs Base**

It was a rather silent morning in the Underdogs base. Daniel, who punched in the keycode and let himself in, taking an elevator down to the first floor, silently walked alone through the hallways to Ward's office. He came up to the guard that patrolled the door leading there.

"The boss called me." He explained.

The guard went inside the office without a word to get permission, and then came back out, giving Daniel a simple nod and stepping aside.

Daniel walked past him and entered the office. "Mr. Ward."

Ward turned to him, a glass of wine in his hand. He had been focused on his multiple computer screens in the room. "Executioner."

He walked up to him. "You called me?"

"Yes I did… I have a mission for you…" He casually sipped his wine. "I hope you're not too busy otherwise."

"No, never."

"That's very good… The mission is simple. We have a new target for you. There's someone who's onto us, and is now actively hunting us down, apparently… She gave the poor Jefferson kid a scare…"

"Who is she?"

"Her name…" He pointed up at the screen at the picture of the woman. "…is Vanessa Reyes. She works in an office building in the city. She posed as a reporter for the Inkopolis Daily yesterday just to ask questions about us…"

"And did she get anything?"

"Not really. But I thought it would be good to make a scene out of this… create even more fear for the public…" He looked back at Daniel. "You're the man for the job. I'm sure you know what to do from here."

Daniel nodded. "Consider it done."

Ward patted his arm. "I expect nothing less from you. You can gather Ayesha and your crew again if you want."

He nodded again.

"That is all." He looked back up at the computer screens. With that, Daniel then silently left to begin his planning.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

"Hey… I'm… sorry I'm late, I don't really have access to my car at the moment…" Vanessa said as she arrived up in the office where she worked. It was a fairly large office, even if it was just one floor they had in a larger skyscraper, and it was designed with a bit of a retro look to it, just to look a bit more unique from the common office. "And I'm also sorry for missing a day yesterday…" She continued.

"Where the hell were you?" Her friend, Susan, asked as she entered and sat by her desk.

"Just… helping out a friend." She explained lazily as she put her coffee on her desk and got situated. "She's an… interesting one. To say the least."

"More interesting than me?"

"Very possibly, yes."

"Aw, bull-fucking-shit!" She replied with a fun smile. "Looks like I need to step up my game then…"

"She's… I don't know how to explain it, really." Vanessa continued with a shrug. "Guess one could say she's quite infamous."

"Please, girl, I invented the word infamous." Susan replied. "Is this the girl that's been rooming with you? What's she like then?"

"She's rude…"

"Like me…"

"She's insensitive yet sensitive at the same time..."

"Kinda like me…"

"She's quite depressed, to tell you the truth…"

"Not so much like me."

"And she's surprisingly great in bed." She gave Susan a wink.

Susan smiled wider. "Damn, girl, you're out there collecting names! Is she hot?"

"Yes. And she's fit, despite… well… never mind."

"I doubt she's as hot as I am though…"

"You actually have some competition for once."

She scoffed and playfully threw her pen at Vanessa, her smile unfading. "Whatever… but come on… tell me that she isn't as good as when we used to hit it on back in the day."

"You do have the better ass…" Vanessa admitted.

"Alright, girls, that's enough talking!" Their boss suddenly thundered through the room as he walked past.

Vanessa and Susan both sighed as they sank into the cubicles as he walked past. As soon as he was gone, however, they leaned back toward each other and continued their conversation in whispers.

"Just so you know…" Susan whispered. "Apparently we have to work extra hours today…"

"What? Why?" Vanessa replied.

"I dunno, guessing that something pissed off the manager… might be related to you missing a day, if I'm being honest…"

"Fuck…" Vanessa sighed.

"Yeah… we're gonna be working late… so keep that coffee going, girl." She returned to her own cubicle.

Vanessa grumbled and returned to her own as well.

* * *

**Later that Day**

It was getting to be around the time that Vanessa would already be home if her hours hadn't gotten extended for the day. Jessica, who had spent the night at Lishawn County trying her best to relive her childhood, finally pulled back up to Vanessa's house in her car, sloppily parking it in the parking lot.

"Stupid machine…" She muttered, frustrated by how surprisingly annoying it was to operate without knowing how to. It wasn't even parked straight, but Jessica shrugged it off and got out anyway, leaving it like that and entering the house. She found that the door was locked, and had to use her key Vanessa provided to her to get in.

She turned on the light. "Vanessa?"

No answer. Sighing, she looked at the time, seeing that Vanessa should normally be home, but shrugged it off. She went into the other room to get a change of clothes, putting on a black sweatshirt, and then decided to go out for yet another walk, as if it'd help her at all.

She didn't even bother locking the door behind her as she walked out to the sidewalk, heading out toward the city.

* * *

At that time, Vanessa was still hard at work with Susan. A big yawn escaped her mouth.

"Tired already?" Susan asked.

She checked the time. "It's getting late… I wanna go home…"

"We just gotta power through for another few hours, girl. Then maybe you can take me to your place and I can meet this attractive friend of yours." Susan smiled.

Vanessa smiled back. "Heh… maybe…"

"That's the spirit, baby!" Susan patted her shoulder. "As your reward, I'm going to go get you another coffee." She got up to do so.

"With extra cream, please!" Vanessa called after her.

"You got it!" Susan disappeared to the break room.

Vanessa sighed and dropped her head down on her desk lazily, tempted to just take a nap on the spot.

Minutes passed. Eventually, Vanessa's thoughts were broken as a couple Inklings nearby started talking nearby.

"Yo, are you hearing about this right now? I heard that something crazy is going on downstairs."

"What, did a celebrity show up or something?"

"No, I'm hearing that… we might, like, be in danger. I heard there are like bad people down there, man."

"I'm sure you're overreacting…"

Vanessa just rolled her eyes, not caring so much. That was, until, all the lights in the building abruptly shut down as the buildings alarm went off.

* * *

**The First Floor**

Sounds of screams and high-pressure ink chargers were sounding off, as multiple Octolings breached the building. Many people, despite attempts to flee, were quickly dropping dead, forming pools of their own bleeding ink.

Ayesha was again the only person who didn't have a gun, and was instead throwing her arsenal of knives at people. Sometimes, if she got lucky enough to kill a person close range, she would instead pull them close, give them a teasing kiss on the cheek, and then slit their throat, sucking on their ink a little as they bled out and dropped to the ground.

Finally, Daniel, with his Executioner mask, was the last person to enter. He walked straight in the direction of the receptionist desk, but couldn't reach it without being stopped by a couple brave security guards, who were pointing their splattershots right at him.

"Stop right there!" They told him, panicking.

Daniel just mumbled to himself a little and brought his charger straight to one guard's face as if it was a shotgun, pulling the trigger and splattering his ink everywhere, instantly killing him.

The other guard desperately opened fired on him, but was unable to do much as Daniel elbowed him in the face and knocked him down, before bringing his charger to his face and killing him in the same way. He casually wiped some of the ink off his mask.

He stood up and turned to Ayesha, who was nearby. _"Clean out the first floor. I'll handle the target."_

"Already on it, sweetiepie!" Ayesha called back as she jammed a knife in a random person's neck and twisted it, causing him to give out a strange gag.

Daniel then walked over straight to the receptionist desk, ignoring the chaos around him, and leaped over. Sure enough, the receptionist was hiding underneath and was shaking terribly, fearing for her life. He pointed his charger straight at her face. _"Get up."_

The receptionist just stared at the charger, and closed her eyes as if she could get her brains blasted out any second.

_"Now!" _Daniel barked.

The receptionist whimpered and then obeyed, crawling out from under the desk and standing up. She stared at Daniel, scared out of her mind. "W-What do you want?"

_"I'm looking for a woman named Vanessa Reyes." _He motioned his charger toward the computer on the reception desk. _"You're going to tell me where she works in the building."_

Thinking that maybe the terrorist would spare her if she obeyed, she decided to just go to the computer and search up the name. She was still incredibly shaky and was sobbing however, making her job a little tricky.

_"Hurry up!" _Daniel commanded, holding the charger to the back of her head.

She whimpered and sped up her typing. Eventually, she was able to pull up her name from the database. "S-She's on the 9th floor…"

_"Back away from the computer…"_

She immediately obeyed and backed away, allowing Daniel to peer at the screen and confirm what she said.

"P-Please just let me-" The receptionist was interrupted as Daniel brought his charger to her face as well and pulled the trigger.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

Jessica was casually walking along the sidewalks of Inkopolis in the meantime. Despite the fact the sun was setting, she was again wearing her sunglasses and had her hood up to prevent her from being recognized, and was keeping her gaze down. Her thoughts were on Daniel the whole time.

Eventually, her thoughts were interrupted as she walked by a crowd of people, who were gathered around a TV screen displaying the news behind a window. Curious, she crept her way through the crowd and got up front so that she could see the TV. It seemed to be detailing another attack happening at that moment within the city.

"...What happened…?" She asked the crowd.

"There's another terrorist attack going on right now." The person next to her explained. "They think it's the same group that massacred the bank."

Jessica looked down. "…Daniel…" She breathed.

"What was that?"

"N-Nothing…" She looked back up at the TV, studying it. As the news showed overhead shots of the building, her eyes widened a little as she realized she recognized it. It was the building where Vanessa worked. "Shit…"

The person next to her was staring at her curiously, but it didn't matter, as she then rudely shoved her way back out of the crowd. She looked around, thinking to herself. If she focused, she could definitely hear police sirens in the distance.

Many thoughts were racing through her head. Should she jump into action? Should she return to her Agent 3 roots for this one mission to find Daniel? Or should she be smart about it and continue to stay hidden, and continue to instead build a different life for herself?

Her mind was, quite honestly, tilting toward the latter. But at the same time… her hearts were racing. Vanessa was in danger. Her brother was out there at this current moment taking innocent lives. If she had still been Agent 3, she would've already been there, and she knew it.

She looked around, desperately trying to stop herself from making the possibly stupid decision of going over there. She took deep breaths. She tried to calm herself down. But overall… it wasn't enough. Suddenly, she desperately threw off her sunglasses and her hood as she marched to the nearest alleyway.

She disappeared from the public eye as she walked inbetween the buildings, and then gave another look around to make sure no one was in the alleyway already to see. Then, swiftly, she suddenly morphed into her squid form and shot off in a super jump, heading in the direction of Vanessa's work building in a stream of black ink.

She landed on a distant rooftop in the city, but didn't stop. She ran across the top of the building she landed on, admittedly enjoying the feel. This was the most action she had felt in months. There was of course lots of random rooftop parts in her away, but it didn't matter to her, and she swiftly dodged past it all with swift parkour moves. Then, she leaped off that building and again turned to her squid form mid air, launching off into another super jump.

* * *

**Back at the Office Building**

The alarm was still blaring loudly throughout the building, and on Vanessa's floor, they had already entered lockdown mode.

"The phones are dead…" The receptionist on that floor stated. "I don't know what's going on."

"Well, stay here, people! No one leaves this floor!" Their boss called. "The doors will remain locked if anyone tries to get in. We'll be perfectly safe."

Many of the employees in the large office decided to settle down and talk among themselves to calm themselves down, Vanessa and Susan among them.

"I don't like this…" Susan muttered.

"Me neither…" Vanessa sighed.

"And of course this happens on the one day we have to work overtime… utterly ridiculous." She sighed. "Man, I hope those poor people downstairs are holding up ok…"

"I'm sure we'll all be fine." Vanessa lied, even if she was feeling incredibly nervous.

"I mean, what kinda junkies would just attack our building like this? It's insane."

Vanessa opened her mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out.

Susan noticed. "Girl, do you know something about this?"

"I…" Vanessa sighed, deciding to just admit it. "I maybe… got a bit over my head and pissed some people off…"

"You what?" Susan replied nervously. "Are you saying that whoever it is is coming here for your ass?"

"No, I didn't say that… I just mean… like…" She sighed. "Look, for all we know this could be a prank. We don't know what exactly is going on downstairs, not when the phones are dead like this."

"I dunno… this doesn't sound good at all to me…"

Vanessa just looked down.

Several minutes passed as they fell into silence, the alarm lights still flashing throughout their floor, and Vanessa went over to the window and looked down. She could see police lights all the way down there, lots of them. It definitely wasn't a prank, and it was something bad. Nervously, she gulped and then turned to call out to the floor. "G-Guys, I think we should maybe-"

Her announcement was interrupted as suddenly, the locked door to their large office was slammed down. Pretty much everyone in the room screamed, and the next thing they knew, Daniel stepped inside and immediately opened fire, killing the receptionist of that floor first.

"Everybody, h-" The boss called out before he too was also gunned down. Vanessa screamed, and went to reunite with Susan.

_"Vanessa Reyes!" _Daniel called out.

"Shit!" Susan yelled, desperately trying to pull Vanessa away. "We gotta get out of here!"

Vanessa could only watch in fear as Daniel began opening fire on basically everyone in the floor, taking out as many people as he could. Soon, the floor was already being covered in obscene amounts of ink as many dead corpses of the workers there laid limp across the floor. Susan, fearing for her own life, failed to get Vanessa to budge and ended up evacuating to the break room herself, closing the door.

"That's Vanessa Reyes, just leave us alone!" One woman called out, slumped against the wall and pointing straight at Vanessa. A small gasp escape Vanessa's mouth as she stared down Daniel, absolutely frozen in fear.

Daniel opened fire on the woman who called that out, killing her without even looking at her, as he then moved to stare down Vanessa as well. At this point, everyone on the floor besides them was already dead or hiding.

Vanessa found herself unable to run, her death feeling way too certain. Her entire body and her breathing was shaky, as she stared down her killer.

Daniel stared her down for several seconds in silence, studying her appearance. _"…You're quite beautiful." _He eventually spoke.

Vanessa just responded with long shaky breathing.

_"It's a shame, some of the people we have to track down…" _Daniel continued, slowly lifting up his weapon, pointing it at her.

Vanessa slowly closed her eyes, silently preparing to face in the inevitable. Suddenly, however, the silence was broken by the sound of grunting, as a third figure who entered a moment ago undetected abruptly took Daniel's charger from him, punched him in the mask, kicked him again to knock him back, and then brought the weapon to her knee, breaking it in half. Vanessa's eyes shot back open as she heard this. "…J-Jess…?"

"Go, get outta here. Hide." Jessica commanded.

Vanessa was still unable to move, staring her down in fear. "…W-Where were you-"

"Go!" Jessica barked.

Vanessa flinched and gasped as she finally obeyed, running straight to the break room where Susan was already hiding. She desperately closed the door behind her, and slumped against the wall next to her friend.

Jessica, meanwhile, moved to stare down her foe, who she had successfully managed to knock on the ground.

Daniel was already slowly getting up, staring down the intruder, but while it was hard to tell because of his mask, he seemed to be going into shock. They found themselves staring at each other as if they were holding a staring contest, both falling into silence. It was several seconds before someone spoke.

_"...J-Jessica…?" _Daniel finally said. _"N-No, no, no, no, no… I-I killed you…" _He breathed.

"...Daniel…" Jessica replied. "…Why would you do this…?"

The loud buzzing noise that sometimes plagued Daniel was now going in full effect, and he looked down, gritting his teeth. His breathing was getting heavier, being distorted by his voice scrambler. _"No, no, no…" _He continued.

All of the voices in Daniel's head were now going on full attack as if in a chorus, as loud as ever.

_'Jessica is still alive.'_

_'I just knew you couldn't be trusted…'_

_'You failed.'_

_'Imagine what Ward will say when he finds out you failed?'_

_'You should just kill yourself.'_

_'End everything.'_

_'Kill Jessica.'_

_'End everything.'_

_'End her life.'_

_'Make her bleed!'_

_'Rip her head off.'_

_'Slice her throat.'_

_'The bitch.'_

_'End everything.'_

_'Kill her, Daniel.'_

_'WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? KILL HER!'_

Daniel rubbed his mask as if he was could rub his own hair in a panic, staring down at the ground, trying his hardest to ignore the voices.

"Daniel…" Jessica spoke again. "Please say something…"

Another few seconds passed in silence. Then, suddenly, a loud war cry escaped Daniel's mouth as he once again managed to go full Executioner mode, and he charged forward, bringing his fists into the fight.

Jessica immediately moved to defend herself, and the two siblings erupted into a full fistfight. It had been a while since she had fought like this, so she was a bit rusty, and Daniel of course, being related to her, was also quite good in fights. Nonetheless, their moves remained very much in sync, and they were fairly easily able to counter each others moves.

The fight carried on for a good few minutes like this, them unable to get any real hits on each other, as Vanessa and Susan remained hidden in the other room, scared for their lives.

Soon, however, both siblings were starting to get tired, and finally, Jessica was able to use the opportunity to overpower him. She was able to bring one swift punch straight to Daniel's face, cracking his mask just a little, and knocked him back with another kick to the stomach. Daniel toppled back, grunting.

This wasn't nearly enough to get Daniel out of the fight, however. As he got up, he immediately went to hide, thinking out his next move. When Jessica went to follow, she was met with a suddenly stapler Daniel hurled straight at her head, which instantly stunned her. It did more than stun her, actually; it knocked her into a seizure. Just like that, she collapsed to the ground, shaking.

Daniel came out from his hiding spot and immediately used the opportunity, whaling on her, punching randomly in her chest and face. Jessica, however, soon came down from her seizure and saw he was on top of her, gasping in surprise and desperately trying to shove him off. Unfortunately, however, she was now finding she didn't have nearly as much strength, as if the seizure and other blows to her head sapped her energy.

As she continued to weakly fight back, Daniel held her arms to hold her still and then rolled her over, kicking her in the back. Jessica yelped in pain as the force of which shoved her face into the carpet. Daniel then picked her up by her shirt, and angrily kicked her in the stomach, knocking her back quite a distance.

Jessica came to a rolling stop, grunting in pain some more, but did not use the opportunity to relax. In fact, as she looked over, she saw that Daniel was grabbing more random office supplies and was preparing to hurl them at her. Mustering her strength, she kicked off a desk as hard as she could as Daniel threw the supplies at her, sliding away and barely dodging. She then got up, dodging more office supplies, as she went to hide behind the desks. She, however, wasn't able to dodge a pair of scissors, which sliced her right in the arm.

She screamed and continued hiding behind the desks. Daniel quickly went to locate her, but Jessica was now using her hiding skills rather than her combat skills, and was managing to stay hidden by constantly moving behind desks in a way he couldn't see. Having lost her, Daniel sighed in frustration.

Jessica took the opportunity to check up on herself. She now had nasty bruises already, and was bleeding from her mouth and slice wound. She wiped some of the ink on her chin away with her fingers, but stayed as silent as possible, as Daniel was still actively searching the office for her. If Daniel were to catch her off guard right now, she could very much be a dead girl… again.

_"How even did you survive?" _Daniel suddenly called out as he actively searched for her. _"You were bleeding everywhere… multiple fatal stabs in the stomach… I tossed you into a lake… and yet you still got back up… How?"_

Jessica, of course, ignored him, still actively hiding for her life. She continued to move around in ways Daniel couldn't see her, but she was aware that she couldn't hide forever. She needed to go back out and face him, even if she were to die trying.

_"Just come out so I can finish you, Jessica…" _Daniel continued. _"There's no point in fighting…" _At this point, he was starting to catch on to where Jessica was running off to, and was starting to get uncomfortably close.

Jessica took a deep breath. It was now or never. Mustering all her strength to fight, she lunged back out and immediately engaged in another fistfight with him, ignoring how weak and beaten she was.

This time, she was using her own anger to help fuel her movements, and was surprisingly able to overpower Daniel this time. She brought several punches straight to his mask with an angry yell, cracking it a bit further, and then managed to kick him away.

Overpowered, Daniel was sent flying into a desk, knocking several things down, including the desk itself, as he toppled over it. Quickly getting back up, he desperately reached for whatever office supplies he could, and began hurling them at Jessica.

Jessica moved to dodge them, and the next thing they knew, Daniel was chasing her through the office, hurling as many things as she could at her, especially aiming for the head. Jessica was able to dodge most of them, and was again hiding behind desks to help do so, but soon enough, they converged again, and Jessica lunged at him, grabbing him.

Daniel grabbed back, and began to knee her in the stomach, prompting her to yelp in pain. He then suddenly headbutted her, which unfortunately knocked her into another smaller seizure. As Jessica was seemingly staring into space from her seizure, Daniel pushed her back as hard as he could, shoving her into a wall.

Although Jessica did quickly enough come down from her seizure, she was unable to do anything as Daniel landed the finishing blow, punching her swiftly across the face and knocking her out. She went limp against the wall.

Daniel took the moment to collect his breath. It was at this moment that he realized he had veered off from his mission, and he knew the police just had to be there right now. He figured they were down on the first floor still, fighting his team, and that they also didn't know which floor he was on. He did, however, realize that probably wouldn't buy him _too _much time, and that he had to leave soon.

Realizing that he didn't exactly have any lethal weapons on him at the moment, he decided to leave Jessica behind, realizing that maybe the police would find her and take care of her for her. He grabbed some scissors from a random desk, and then went to bust down the room to the break room.

Vanessa and Susan were both still cowering in fear, sobbing their eyes out and holding onto each other as if for dear life, screamed when they heard the door being banged on. They stood up, in total fight or flight mode.

It was only a few moments before Daniel busted down the door, and walked in, instantly locating them both. He walked up to them, scissors in hand.

_"Vanessa…" _Daniel said politely, gripping his scissors tightly.

"No, no, no, please don't…" Susan begged, still sobbing. "Don't kill her…"

Vanessa, however, had already accepted her death, and closed her eyes.

The sound of ripping flesh paired with the stabbing of the wall behind them could be heard, but strangely, Vanessa opened her eyes again to see that she was still alive. She looked over, and cried out as she realized Daniel instead chose to use the scissors on Susan, fatally stabbing her right through the eye and pinning her to the wall behind them. "SUSAN!"

Daniel again casually wiped some of the ink from his mask, and then got up right in front of Vanessa, his mask right in her face. Vanessa stared right back, feeling like she was gonna have a heart attack.

_"Do not mess with the Underdogs again…" _Daniel said simply. _"This is your only warning…"_

With that, he then left, leaving Vanessa to break down sobbing even harder, mourning for her friend.

After Daniel vacated the floor, heading off to his escape, Jessica drifted awake again where Daniel had left her, groaning.

"Jess!? Jess!?" Vanessa came out, still sobbing. She saw that Jessica was there, still awake. "Jess! Oh my god!" She went over and knelt down next to her. "Are you ok!?"

Jessica ended up ignoring her question. "…W-Where's Daniel…?"

"H-He left… h-he killed Susan…" She sobbed.

Jessica looked down for a few seconds in defeat, before realizing that they had to go as soon as possible. Grunting, she slowly started to get up. "We need to go…"

"N-No, just stay here, y-you're obviously injured…"

"Vanessa, the police will be here soon… I can't get caught… we need to get out of here…"

Vanessa realized that, and then reluctantly nodded in agreement. "O-Ok…"

"Help me…"

Vanessa helped her up, which caused her to grunt in pain. "I know a doctor we can go to…"

"Dammit, just save it!" Jessica suddenly snapped. The two then walked out to escape the building themselves before the police arrived, Jessica limping and holding onto Vanessa for support all the way out.

They barely made it out right before the police also arrived on that floor, leaving them with only the crime scene left behind.


	11. Voices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica and Vanessa recover from a traumatizing attack. Meanwhile, Daniel finds himself challenged by his own dark thoughts.

It wasn't too much longer before Detective Johnson entered the office building with a few more police officers behind him, the alarms to the building still blaring and flashing. To his dismay, it was obvious that the police didn't exactly win the fight beforehand; there were lots of dead bodies everywhere on just the first floor.

"Oh my god…" He muttered, looking around with his eyes wide. There was a good amount of dead police officers, who had gone in earlier in their failed attempt to stop the Underdogs, and the bodies of basically any civilian that happened to be in the room at the time of the massacre. Compared to those numbers, there were only a few dead Underdog Octolings that the police were able to take out.

"You three! Check upstairs! You four, start scrambling every available officer and check the surrounding area!" He yelled to the police officers behind him. They nodded and did so, as Johnson stayed behind to check up on the pulses of his fellow officers. As a man who had been a police officer for years and had lots of experience, he had seen lots of dark things, but to see so many of his friends just dead before him like this? If he wasn't currently on the job, he'd probably have broken down crying from the stress at this point.

But alas, he still had a job to do, so he stayed strong. He checked the pulse of every single last officer he could see, finding that most of them were of course dead. One officer, however, who was leaned against the wall and slowly forming his own puddle of ink with multiple slashes his stomach, suddenly gasped awake when Johnson touched his throat.

Johnson jumped a little when this happened. He checked his name badge. "…Charles?" He then screamed out. "I need some medical assistance here!"

For a moment, all Officer Charles could respond with was himself choking on his own ink. He coughed, causing more ink to pour out of his mouth than what was already drizzling. It took a few seconds before he could finally speak. "…J-Johnson…?"

"...Charles, what happened here? How did they get away? Who was it? Was it the Underdogs? Do you know?"

He very weakly shook his head, gagging some more. "…The… g-girl with the knives… she… s-she got me…" He coughed again, sending more ink pouring down his chin and onto his chest. "…There's so much pain…"

"We'll get you in medical assistance…" He said, despite the fact it was pretty obvious he was dying.

Charles again weakly shook his head. "…T-There's n-nothing but pain…"

"That's not true… you have a family… you have kids…"

"It's just… pain… it's just pain…" He continued like a broken record, recounting what Ayesha had told him during her brutal attack on him. "N-Nothing but pain…" He puked up some more ink.

Johnson grabbed his hand just to comfort him, knowing he was clocking out.

"It's… just… pain…" Finally, his face relaxed and his eyes went cold, staring at Johnson with a now blank expression.

Johnson sighed, fighting his hardest to not tear up on the scene. It didn't matter however, as he did tear up a little, and a single tear fell down his cheek. Shakily, he reached up to close his eyelids before dropping his head in silence for a moment, silently mourning.

He didn't know exactly what they were up against. He didn't know what their plan was. But all he knew right now is that he just lost lots of good men, and someone was going to pay for it.

* * *

Jessica and Vanessa, meanwhile, had already fled the building, and even though it was quite a walk, Vanessa was able to eventually get Jessica home and made a call for medical attention, calling someone she knew she could trust.

Before they knew it, John and Dana Reynolds were at Vanessa's apartments, with John and Jessica sitting at the table, Jessica in her bra with her shirt off, and John actively checking up on her wounds while cleaning up her bled ink. Vanessa, meanwhile, was sobbing nearby and looked incredibly shaken, with Dana comforting her. Jessica occasionally glanced at her, but they all sat in relative silence for a while, not saying anything.

Eventually, Vanessa finally spoke, after calming down. "…S-She didn't have to die…"

"...Vanessa… what exactly happened?" Dana said, barely knowing a thing. "Is this related to the office massacre that happened?"

"Yeah…" Jessica sighed.

"So what happened?"

"It was my brother…" Jessica explained. "He went there to attack Vanessa. I… I don't know why…"

"You don't?"

"My original thought was that they know I'm alive somehow, and were coming after her as a way to get to me, but… Daniel was obviously surprised as hell to see me… even with that damn mask on… I don't think they knew."

"Vanessa, do you know why he came for you?" Dana asked her.

Vanessa just shook her head no, still crying, but it was a bit obvious to Jessica she was hiding something.

"He… killed her friend… and lots of other people…" Jessica explained further.

"...Oh my god…" Dana replied, shocked.

"...T-There was ink everywhere…" Vanessa sobbed. "And h-he was r-right there… he had a pair of scissors… and he pinned Susan to the wall with it…"

"Honey…" Dana pulled her into a hug, and Vanessa leaned into her, crying in her chest. "I'm so sorry…"

Jessica just kept her gaze down to the ground, many thoughts racing through her head. Everything that was happening right now, all the deaths, Daniel's insanity in the first place… she felt like it was all her fault. And the fact that she had dropped the Agent 3 title for her own selfish reasons didn't help either.

John, meanwhile, was preparing to stitch up Jessica's open scissor-inflicting wound. "This will sting…"

"I know." Jessica replied without care, already way too used to the pain in general. "Everything stings…"

Minutes passed. John had finished stitching Jessica up, and attempted to give her a candy just to be nice, which Jessica rudely waved off. Vanessa had calmed down with the help of Dana's hug, and soon, the Reynolds decided their role was finished and they prepared to head out.

Dana, however, went up to Jessica before she left. "Jessica… I… everything you've told me… about these terrorists, it… I'm not going to lie, it has me concerned… scared even…"

Jessica sighed and looked down a little.

"I'm not saying that you should be putting yourself into danger, but… I know that if there's anyone who can stop them… it's you. You can still bring Agent 3 back…"

Jessica scoffed a little. "…Look, I appreciate the support, I guess, and I know that probably everyone in the city at this point is on edge, but Agent 3 is dead… we gotta accept that… all of us…"

"It doesn't have to be…"

"Look, as far as taking the Underdogs down, I'm not sure that's my job anymore. I know other people who can take that task on… I'm taking a… different approach to this…"

"...Different how?"

"Different meaning that no, I'm not Agent 3 anymore, and no, I'm not looking to save the city anymore, but… I've decided now that… I'm still going after them. I'm going after Daniel."

Dana looked at her in surprise, and Vanessa was also staring at Jessica, wiping her tears with a bit of a determined look that no one was paying attention to.

Dana then nodded. "…Be careful then…"

"I don't do careful." Jessica replied.

Dana couldn't help but smile a little despite the cockiness. "Still as cocky as always, I see…" She hugged her. "But be careful anyway…"

Jessica didn't respond, just silently hugging her back for just a moment. With that, Dana and John then left.

"...You know that last time you weren't careful, your apartment got blown up and you got stabbed to what should have been death, right?" Vanessa commented, still wiping her tears. She was, at least, much more calm now and had stopped crying.

Jessica ignored her, walking up to her. "…I'm sorry about your friend…"

"...You're really going after them, then?"

"...Just after Daniel… the rest isn't my business…"

"The Underdogs are your business if Daniel is…"

"I don't care anymore…"

"Jess…" She sighed, and cupped her cheek, before falling silent for a moment. Several seconds passed, them staring at each other, before Vanessa spoke again. "…I… didn't thank you for saving me…"

"It's… nothing… you'll never have to…"

"Thank you anyway…" She whispered, still cupping her cheek.

Again, Jessica was aware that getting involved with Vanessa probably wasn't the smartest thing in the world for her to do, but nonetheless, she found herself leaning in a bit, and their lips again pressed together. It remained soft for a moment, both of them growing warmer and breathing into each other, before eventually, Vanessa started to get rougher. She reached around, gripping the back of Jessica's head with one arm, and her rear with the other.

Jessica was a bit more used to it at this point, and decided to take more action herself; she reached to tug on Vanessa's shirt, pulling it up. Vanessa stuck her tongue in her mouth and wrestled tongues with her, before eventually breaking off to let Jessica take off her shirt all the way. She then immediately continued the kiss, and reached around to unhook Jessica's bra, letting it fall to the floor. She then reached to roughly grope her breasts, and Jessica sighed deeply into her mouth.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

The door to Daniel's apartment suddenly slammed open, as he entered and turned on the light. His breathing was heavy and he was having trouble keeping himself calm; he was having that feeling like the world was collapsing against him again. Jessica was still alive… despite everything he had done…

Panicking, he closed the door behind him and then took off his Executioner mask, looking at it. It was covered in ink, and was cracked a bit from the punches Jessica landed on him.

"No, no no no no no…" He said to himself. "How are you alive…?"

He then attempted to calm himself down. He took deep breaths, threw the mask aside, and rushed to his kitchen to get his meds. He took out a bottle of pills that were prescribed to him for his schizophrenia, and began pouring them onto his palm, more than he was supposed to take actually. He desperately dumped them in his mouth and swallowed them, before trying to relax for a moment.

It wasn't working, however. He was aware that if the Underdogs were to find out he failed his original mission of killing Agent 3 after all, they weren't gonna be happy. His breathing only got more intense again, and suddenly, in a fit of rage, he threw the bottle of pills away, smashing it as all the pills flew out and randomly settled throughout the living room.

The buzzing sounds and the voices were only getting worse too, and he desperately covered his ears as if that would help, crouching against the wall. He sank all the way to the floor, keeping his head low, and yet, the noises were only getting louder.

"Shut up…" He said out loud to nothing. They only got louder. "Shut up…"

Minutes passed, his breathing and the noises only getting worse and worse. Eventually, he completely lost it, and suddenly rose his head up again, yelling as loud as he could at the voices as if he was an angry child. "SHUT UUUUUUUP!"

Of course, it didn't work. Everything was so loud. He looked around his apartment as he rode out his tantrum, and to his dismay, he could see his mom there, in the apartment with him. She was laid on his couch, her throat split wide open as obscene amounts of ink poured from multiple wounds she had; and her dead, cold eyes were staring right at him as if she was still alive.

He gasped and looked back down, attempting and failing again to control his breathing. He looked back up, and luckily, the hallucination had gone away. Then he made the mistake of closing his eyes for a bit before opening them again.

The next hallucination to haunt him was Jessica herself. It was young Jessica, around the age she was when he killed their parents.

He gasped a little, staring at her as if it was a person he genuinely loved like family. "…Jessica…?"

The young Jessica stared back at him for several seconds in silence, with the same childish innocence in her eyes that he recognized, before finally speaking. "…Why'd you kill them, Daniel?"

He gulped. "...It was… it was the mission…"

"Not the people at the office…" Jessica clarified. "Our parents… you killed our parents…"

He suddenly broke down crying. "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have… I really shouldn't have…"

"You ruined our lives…"

"I know… I know…" He sobbed. "Please just leave me alone…"

"And now you want to kill me… why…?" Jessica continued.

He didn't say anything, looking down.

"Please tell me, Daniel…"

"Because you… you broke me…" Daniel sobbed. "I just wanted a sister and you broke me…"

"Daniel…" Now the hallucination was crying. "I just wanted a brother too… but you ruined everything… we could've been a family…"

"No…" He desperately shook his head. "No…"

"Daniel, I loved you…"

"NO!" He finally looked back at up her, only to see that the young and innocent, even if bratty, Jessica disappeared, and the older Agent 3 he was so determined to kill was standing in her place. He looked up at her. She was wearing the complete Hero Outfit, cape and all.

"Jessica…?" He muttered, staring up at her as if she was some religious figure. He broke down crying even harder. "…I'm sorry I ruined our lives… but you… y-you were the one who led me there… you broke me… things would be just fine if it weren't for you…" He continued though his sobbing. "…So you have to understand why I had to kill you…"

"But you didn't kill me, Daniel." Jessica spoke again. "You failed. Now, surprise… I'm still here."

"Jessica, please… please just listen to me for once…"

"But you know what?" Jessica suddenly started walking to where Daniel had dropped the Executioner mask before. "You think I led you to destruction? That I hurt you? No… you hurt yourself… and you hurt me…"

"Jessica, please don't taunt me…"

"And now…" Jessica picked up the Executioner mask and slipped it on her head, turning back to him. _"I will come for you."_

"Jessica…! Please don't!" Daniel begged.

_"We'll fight to the death. Either you kill me… or I kill you…" _She walked up to him, standing over him as if she was a demon, taunting him. _"Then we'll know who the real Executioner is…"_

"JESSICA, JUST PLEASE DIE!" He suddenly yelled at her, again like an angry child, and just like that, the hallucination finally disappeared. He gasped in fear, hyperventilating. It was too much. It was all too much.

Desperately, he finally got back up, no longer ignoring the voices, which were all on full attack. He went over to a closet he had locked up, and desperately pulled on it while kicking off the wall until he was able to break it open entirely.

Inside, was a simple chair, with a noose hanging over it. It was something he had set up quite a while back and locked away, not wanting to confront the dark choice yet. Now… he was ready… or at least he thought he was… Truth be told, he still wasn't so sure.

He stared it down for literally several minutes without moving, thinking it over The voices were on full attack the whole time, begging him to do it.

Finally, when he did move, he instead just backed up, not taking his eyes off the noose. He backed all the way up to his couch, where he sat down. He couldn't do it, not yet. He still had one mission. He had to kill Jessica.

Finally, he looked down at the ground, before deciding to unleash all his frustrations to his best ability instead. Veins appears on his head as he let out his massive scream. "RAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

* * *

**Meanwhile**

Jessica and Vanessa were meanwhile letting out their own screams at the same time, as they roughly scissored against each other. Jessica was still in pain from her battle with Daniel, but was ignoring it, trying to instead let herself get caught up with the growing pleasure.

Vanessa, who was feeling better at this point, grinned at her and groped her breast as they kept going. "Just like that~"

"Mmm…" Jessica responded, getting rougher.

"Fuck, just like that!" Vanessa screamed out a little, now getting close.

Jessica reached up to grope her breast as well as she found herself nearly on her breaking point. "Fffuck!"

"Ah!" Vanessa then climaxed, and Jessica followed after seconds later. She moaned loudly as she rode it out, twitching a little.

Jessica panted as she slowed down, crawling out of their position as she lazily laid down in the bed.

Vanessa crawled next to her. "You know… for a crazy vigilante… you do know how to cheer me up…"

"Not too sure I'm the right person for that, though…"

"You are to me…" Vanessa kissed her cheek.

Jessica sighed. A few minutes passed before suddenly, she sat up, apparently not in the mood to cuddle.

"...W-What's wrong?" Vanessa asked her.

"It's just… nothing…" She crawled out of bed.

"Jess…" She sat up as well. "W-What the hell?"

"I'm not tired…" She fumbled around the floor for her clothes, and began to slip them on, putting back on her pants first.

"Neither am I, but I was… hoping for the comfort…"

Jessica hooked on her bra again before turning to face her. "I'm not cuddling or whatever right now…"

"Come on, Jess, I thought that we were maybe… more than just roommates here…"

"We're not, alright?" Jessica said flatly.

Vanessa stared back with a bit of a hurt expression. "…So you live off my shit for a couple months, you steal my car, you run off to god knows where for a whole day, and then you come back to… treat me like this?"

"Don't be like that…" She muttered. "Vanessa, I… I know you're hiding something from me. And you hid it from Dana."

"...W-What do you mean?"

"You know damn well what I mean. Daniel didn't come knocking on your office doors just because of your looks. You did something to piss them off."

Vanessa just looked down, not saying anything.

"What did you do?"

"...I didn't… do anything…"

"Bullshit."

"Jess…"

"...You went looking for the Underdogs… didn't you? You attempted to track them down?"

"...Maybe…"

She sighed and slipped on her shirt. "I fucking knew it… damn you…" She abruptly got up and went to the other room.

"What's so wrong with that!?" Vanessa yelled back, angrily getting up and following. "Why shouldn't I help you find them? Huh?"

"Because you put innocent people in danger! And now those people are dead!" Jessica suddenly turned back around and hissed at her.

Vanessa flinched a little, staring at her on the verge of tearing up again. "…I just… wanted to help…"

"And I told you not to…"

"...I-I'm sorry, alright? Just… I've seen all these stories about how you're some great vigilante who has saved all these people, and I… I just wanted to be like you…"

"My life isn't the one you want…"

"But it is… I…" She looked her right in the eyes. "Your… brother… with that… horrifying mask… he… he killed Susan…"

"...I know."

Vanessa broke down crying again. "So I'm not gonna stop looking for them. And if you're going after them… then I want in. Because god knows I'm not gonna sit and do nothing…"

They stared at each other for probably a full minute, Vanessa softly crying the whole time, before Jessica finally sighed. "…What exactly did you do to track them?"

"I… went to the bank… to look for clues… and then I questioned um… Detective Grant Johnson about it…"

"Johnson? I know him…" Jessica sighed again. "He's the guy who messed with our dangerous weapon mission and then later got all the Splatoon members arrested… well… most of them…"

"He led me to an Octoling named Trey Jefferson… and when I questioned him about the Underdogs, he… got scared. And I think there was something wrong with his gut too because something was causing him pain after I mentioned it…"

"...He's with the Underdogs?"

"One could easily assume that…"

"Was there something inside him?"

"I… don't know… but he said that the Underdogs put things inside you and give you pain, so… I think so…"

Jessica looked down, thinking for several seconds, before looking back up at Vanessa and nodding. "Then he's our main lead."


	12. Burst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica tracks down Trey Jefferson. Meanwhile, the Underdogs confront Daniel to test his loyalty.

**The Next Day**

The sun was setting on Inkopolis as Trey Jefferson pulled out his keys, lazily opening the door to his workshop and entering. He flipped his keys in his hand casually as he went to turn on the lights and then the music player they had stationed in the work room, turning on some loud rock music.

"Woo!" He cheered to the music, taking off his jacket and randomly throwing it aside as he did. No one was here tonight, and it was a Friday, so he had every intention to relax and maybe get some casual work projects done.

He went to the fridge and grabbed a beer, cracking it open and quickly taking a swig, nodding his head to the music a little as he did. This was his kind of night. Sighing in satisfaction, he went over to his work space and sat down, preparing to get some work done for the night, starting with measurements. He sang along with the music as he worked, continuing to nod his head.

This carried on for several minutes as he worked in peace, nothing bothering him at all. Soon, however, there was something that briefly broke his concentration, even if it was a bit hard to hear above the music: the sound of footsteps, a chair moving a little, and then the sound of someone transforming into their squid form as soon as he turned his head to look.

"...Hello?" He asked. Dropping everything, he got up and went to look. "Cameron, is that you? Don't be messing with me, man…"

One look around, and… nothing. No sign anyone was there at all. Perhaps he was just imagining things. The music made it hard to tell if he did actually hear something anyway. He shrugged it off and went back to his work station, and quickly went back to what he was doing.

"Should I stay or should I go now…?" He sang along. "Should I stay or should I go now…? If I go there will be trouble… and if I stay it will be double…"

A couple minutes passed like this before he heard what sounded like more footsteps, and he turned his head even faster this time. Nothing, just like before.

"I'm going crazy, man…" He shook his head at himself as he sighed and returned to his work, trying his hardest to focus. If there were any more footsteps that he heard, he decided to pass them off as his imagination.

Then, to his dismay, his music abruptly turned off, slamming the place into an uncomfortable silence.

"What the…?" He turned around at his fastest this time, now getting a bit worried. "…If someone is pranking me right now, it isn't funny…"

Silence. Nervously, he pulled a knife out and flipped it out, holding it up and looking around. "If you wanna fucking dance, Cameron… We'll dance. I'll fucking egg your head off if you jump me, I swear to god… so stop playing."

Silence.

"...So let's dance." A female voice suddenly said behind him.

He jumped and immediately turned around, immediately getting hit in the face by whoever it was. He was knocked back by the impact, and he crashed to the wall, sliding to the ground. She hit hard, he had to admit. He reached up to feel that his nose was bleeding, and he wiped some of the ink with his fingers, before looking up at the intruder. He quickly recognized the face, like probably anyone would, and when he realized who it was, he felt like his hearts dropped to his stomach. It was none other than the "deceased" Jessica Murdock.

"We need to talk." Jessica said, towering over him. "And I wouldn't bother fighting."

Trey's face was riddled with fear already, and he started shaking nervously a bit. "…You shouldn't be here…"

"You know information about the Underdogs. I want everything you have. Or else you're gonna learn what pain feels like tonight." Jessica continued, glaring at him in a threatening manner.

Suddenly, a sharp pain struck Trey's insides, causing him to immediately grunt and grab his abdomen. He gritted his teeth, breathing heavily. "You shouldn't be here…"

"...What the hell is wrong with your gut?" Jessica asked, looking at him curiously. "Trey, talk to me. You told Vanessa that the Underdogs give you pain."

The pain only intensified, and Trey forced himself back up to his feet, desperately gripping his knife. "…I said… you shouldn't be here…"

"Try and use that knife, I fucking dare you…" She challenged him.

"Get out of here… I'm warning you now, girl… you don't wanna be here…"

"Tell me about the Underdogs, Trey, and only then I'll leave. Now talk."

The pain in Trey's gut only got worse still, and he gritted his teeth some more. "This is your last chance… get out…"

"Not a chance I'm taking, now just talk to me, god dammit!"

"GET OUT!" Trey yelled desperately, slashing the knife at her as if his life depended on it.

Jessica of course easily dodged, the Octoling not even really a challenge for her. She swiftly dodged a few more swipes, and then swiftly grabbed his hand out of the air, twisting it until he dropped the knife with a scream. Then, she kicked him toward a table, which he leaned against. Trey already had to take a breathing break, the pain getting unbearable to him now. He grabbed his gut, groaning in pain.

"Just talk to me, Trey! Fighting me is pointless!" Jessica urged.

Suddenly, Trey's abdomen seemed to twitch and convulse a little, and leaned forward, puking up some ink. Jessica, not expecting whatever was causing him pain to get that bad, cringed a little to herself.

"...Trey, what is in your gut?" She asked.

"Shut up…" He then grabbed a random saw from the table and went back to attack, again slashing at her. Of course, Jessica easily dodged and then disarmed her opponent, forcing him to use his fists.

At this point, the fight was getting surprisingly tricky to Jessica, mostly because Trey was obviously in an intense state of fight or flight at the moment, and was giving it his all. It was definitely like he was fighting for his life right now. As such, he was able to land some surprisingly strong and quick punches on Jessica, keeping her at bay.

Jessica backed up, realizing that she probably wasn't going to win the fistfight, but Trey was still coming after her, desperately trying to end her life. Deciding to use some more advanced tactics to overpower him, and jumped up and used her foot to kick off a table, landing a swift punch on his head, although this surprisingly wasn't enough to knock him down entirely. Using her legs, she spun around and did a roundhouse kick on him, stunning him, and then launched a sweep kick at his legs, tripping him.

When Trey again desperately attempted to get up, yelling as he did so, Jessica suddenly grabbed his head and slammed him into a table just softly enough to hurt him but not knock him out, before tossing him aside like a rag doll. Defeated, Trey landed on his back, where he now hurt too much to get up; the pain in his gut was really getting to him now. He puked up some more ink and started crying a little.

"Tell me about the Underdogs, asshole…" Jessica sighed.

He whimpered from the pain. "…Please… I won't say anything…"

"You'd better say something…"

Slowly, what sounded like a quiet yet high-pitched screeching sound began to fill the room, slowly picking up volume. Jessica looked around a little.

"Please… I won't tell her anything… please don't kill me…" Trey continued, ignoring the noise.

"...Who are you talking to?" Jessica asked.

Suddenly, the sound Jessica could hear got much louder, causing Jessica to grit her teeth in annoyance. She could only watch as Trey's gut began convulsing more violently, and he began screaming from his pain.

Then, Trey's screams turned into a gag as his stomach abruptly ripped open, as multiple silver metal spikes began growing as they were being spawned from inside him, bursting through his skin. Then, more spikes began growing from different locations in his body, like his chest, arms, legs, and then finally, his throat, collectively and completely tearing him apart.

Jessica eyes widened as she watched in horror, as Trey's body was turned into an unrecognizable mold of flesh that was quickly being overtaken by all the metal spikes that were appearing as if from nowhere. Despite Trey already being beyond dead at this point, however, the spikes were still rapidly growing, and in fact seemed to be growing large enough to destroy the whole building at this rate.

She backed up as far as she could and looked around desperately, realizing she needed an escape plan right here and right now unless she wanted to be taken out with him. There were no windows nearby her, and the exit door was on the other side of the growing spikes. Her escape was now or never.

Barely taking any time to think it through, she ran toward the growing spikes, and then transformed into her squid form, doing a small super jump to the ceiling. Quickly turning back to her humanoid form, she swung off the light on the ceiling she super jumped to, landing on the other side of what was left of Trey's body, barely avoiding the hazard. She quickly kicked the door down, and then again turned into her squid form to super jump out and away from the danger.

As soon as Jessica was gone , the spikes then stopped growing, leaving the room a gruesome image of lots of bled ink and many metal spikes protruding from what used to be Trey Jefferson's body.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Underdogs Base**

As the chaos erupted at Trey's workshop and Jessica made her escape, unbeknownst to her, everything was being recorded on a hidden camera. And the camera feed was being streamed right to Hugh Ward's office for him to see.

"I love that part…" Ayesha smiled as she watched Trey burst open on the screen, stepping away from the controls; she had been the one to activate them in the first place, under Ward's command.

Ward, meanwhile, didn't seem happy at all. "We have more pressing concerns than the fact that we just had to off Mr. Jefferson…"

"But just look at all that ink…" Ayesha replied as she licked her lips, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Focus, Ayesha… we have a problem… that black-haired girl… were you paying attention to her face? To her fighting style?"

"The face, no, but the fighting style, absolutely…" She finally turned back to Ward. "My good old friend, Agent 3…"

Ward watched the screen in frustration. "…Daniel told us he took care of her. He lied to us."

She frowned. "You're not saying we're getting rid of him already, are we…?"

He sighed. "…He's been a valuable tool for us. He's proven his usefulness for sure. But if he lied to us about having killed Agent 3… if he spared her… then we can't trust him."

"If we have to kill him, can I suck his corpse dry?"

"We're not going to kill him. Not yet." He looked at Ayesha. "But we're going to have to test him. And if he did spare her… we will kill him."

She grinned. "Sounds like a party."

"I knew it was probably a mistake trusting an Inkling…" Ward sighed again. "Maybe I'm growing soft…"

"Sometimes it's the soft ones that hit the hardest."

"In any case… I want you on top of this. As long as you give me your word you won't immediately slice his throat or something."

She grinned wider. "What do you want me to do?"

* * *

**Later**

Vanessa was anxiously waiting around her house, trying to keep herself occupied while Jessica was out on her mission. The TV was on and she had music playing at the same time, but it wasn't enough to keep her distracted. Her mind was constantly going back to the office massacre, and Susan's death.

She also couldn't help but feel a bit paranoid about the whole situation. What if… Daniel was going to come for her again, and actually kill her this time? What if the Underdogs figured out where she lived? What if Daniel spared her because he had… more gruesome things planned for her? She shuddered at the thought.

_'Calm down, Vanessa.' _She thought to herself, taking deep breaths. _'You're with Agent 3 now… if shit hits the fan… she'll protect you again… I know she will… just stay calm… and everything will work out. They always do.'_

Her thoughts were interrupted as she then heard the door unlock, and she jumped, half expecting it to be Daniel. Instead, when the door opened and someone entered, she saw it was instead Jessica.

"Jess?" She stood up.

"...Hey…" Jessica replied, looking rather shaken as if she had seen a ghost.

"...Are you ok? How'd the… mission go?"

"...Trey's dead…" She closed the door and took off her jacket.

"Oh my god… what happened? Are you hurt?"

"Don't fucking worry about me…" She sighed.

"I have every right to be worried about you, you know."

"Hey, if I ever get fatally wounded or something again, apparently I have the sanitization inside my head to save me."

"It only saved you once because you got lucky."

"'Lucky…'" She repeated bitterly.

"I doubt the sanitization would save you from anything worse than abdomen stab wounds is what I mean."

"Whatever…" She sat down.

"And you didn't answer my question. What happened?"

She sighed and looked down. "…It was the thing it that was inside him. Whatever it was, it burst out, and… completely tore him apart…" She took a couple deep breaths. "…I had never seen anything like it before…"

Vanessa was a bit horrified by the visual, but decided to not visualize it too much. "...So what was it?"

"I don't know exactly, it was… some kind of… collection of metal spikes. It grew out from inside of him, it grew from his body."

"It was metal?"

"I think…"

Vanessa sat down next to her, thinking.

"I hope you have another lead…" Jessica sighed.

"I mean, not a person, but I might… have an idea…"

"What?"

"The metal that grew out of him… that's not normal."

"No shit."

"No, I mean… that sounds like nanotechnology. Like… nanites forming together to produce the spikes you described. It's a very rare science by today's standards and it's hard to pull off.

Jessica looked at her, realizing she was onto something. "And if it was something the Underdogs placed inside him…"

"Then the Underdogs have access to nanotechnology."

"...So if we can look into where the technology came from in the first place…"

"Then that's our next lead."

Jessica stared at her, actually a bit impressed, mostly because it wasn't actually something she thought of at all. "…It might take a lot of digging."

"Whatever I have to do to find that son of a bitch, I'm in for it. All the way." She gave her a reassuring nod. "So are we gonna do this together, or what?"

She looked down for a moment, thinking deeply about it, before raising her head again and nodding back. "I'll let you help but I'll still handle the dangerous stuff."

"Sounds like a deal." Vanessa gave a tiny smile and outstretched her arm. Jessica stared at it for a second before shaking it.

* * *

_'Jessica is coming for you.'_

_'She's going to kill you.'_

_'You have to kill her first.'_

_'We have to kill her first.'_

_'The Underdogs will kill you too.'_

_'They think you're a traitor.'_

_'Nobody loves you, Daniel.'_

_'Drop the mask and apologize to Jessica.'_

_'Make everything right again.'_

_'There's still hope.'_

_'Don't listen to him, there isn't.'_

_'You failed.'_

_'And now you're going to die.'_

_'Kill yourself already.'_

_'Get your ass back in that closet and just use the noose.'_

_'Just do it, Daniel.'_

_'There's no point in continuing, anyway.'_

Daniel was currently curled up against the wall as the voices spoke to him in an endless chorus; they had been on full attack ever since the office massacre. In his lap, he was holding the Executioner mask, staring at it, and very much feeling like it was staring back, taunting him.

"...What are you looking at?" He eventually asked.

Of course, the mask didn't respond.

His thoughts were interrupted as he suddenly heard a knock on the door, causing him to jump. He looked around and realized that both him and his apartment looked like a mess, but there wasn't much he could do about it at the second. He hid the mask under the couch cushions. "Stay…"

More louder knocks on the door; whoever it was, they were definitely impatient.

"I'm coming…" He fixed his hair up a little and then, putting on his best behavior, went to answer. "I'm sorry, but I'm very busy at the mom-" He was interrupted as he was suddenly grabbed by the Octoling on the other side, who held a knife up to his throat and then forcefully entered with him in her grip, slamming him against the wall.

"Hi again, babe…" Ayesha said, smiling at him and licking her lips a little.

"A-Ayesha!?" He responded, freaking out. "W-What are you-"

"Sh, sh, shhh…" She put a finger up to his mouth almost as if she was trying to be seductive. "…Do you like pain…?"

He shook his head no.

"Pain is the only real feeling we have…" Ayesha continued on her usual lines as if it was a tradition for her. "So if you don't like it… what else do you feel?"

"...Just kill me."

She frowned. "So soon?"

He subtly nodded his head yes.

"Aw, babe…" She lowered the knife and put it away. "I don't wanna kill you… not yet at least. I always like to have fun with my victims before I watch them bleed…"

"...Then why are you here?"

Then Ayesha got _very _seductive, and suddenly grabbed him again, tossing him onto the couch. Before Daniel could do anything else, she crawled on top of him, pinning him down. "I'll keep you around for a while… I'll let you do your job… maybe we can have some fun in bed… and _then_..." She leaned down to his ear, whispering. "…Then I'll kill you… I'm sure your ink is tasty…"

Daniel grimaced a little at the thought as he attempted to get up, but Ayesha kept him pinned.

"For now… we have a job to do…" Ayesha continued. "Ward isn't happy, you know… He knows about how you lied…"

"I didn't lie."

"Then why is sweetiepie Agent 3 still alive?"

"I… I don't know… I don't know, I swear… I stabbed her in the stomach and I tossed her into a fucking lake, she should've been dead… I swear, I don't know how she lived!"

"In either case, Ward is only giving you one more chance, cutie… You're going to kill Agent 3… all by yourself… you're going to bring Ward the head this time… and only then will he keep your trust…"

"...What if I'm not strong enough?"

She smiled. "I'm sure you are, babe… you are very strong… here…" She felt his arms. "…And then _here…" _She suddenly grabbed at his crotch.

He gasped a little.

"You like that, huh~?" She began rubbing a bit.

He tried his best to keep his breathing and his length down there stable, but it… did feel pretty good. He sucked in his breath.

"But…" Before Daniel could get into it, she let go. "…Work first, hun… I don't wanna have to kill you sooner than I want…"

"...You're the most insane fucking Octoling I've ever met…"

"I know…" She gave a wide grin and suddenly gave him a passionate kiss, keeping him pinned.

Daniel didn't exactly return it, and then soon felt a sharp prick on his lip as she suddenly bit him hard and crawled off. "Ow!" He sat up and then reached to see he was bleeding a little.

Ayesha licked a little at some of the ink that stuck to her teeth, her grin unfading. "Tasty…"

Daniel just glared at her, annoyed.

"Bring Ward Three's head…" Ayesha turned to leave. "And then I'll make you feel good if you want…" She unnecessarily slammed the door as she left and disappeared.

"...Son of a bitch…" Daniel grumbled to himself, suddenly taking a random pillow on the couch and throwing it angrily.


	13. Science Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica and Vanessa look into the origins of the nanotechnology used by the Underdogs.

**Days Later**

The sun was starting to set over Inkopolis yet again, as Jessica and Vanessa were casually hanging out in their living room on their own laptops, Jessica's of which being quite cheap. They were both browsing an Octarian database they had recently hacked into, both doing their own searches.

Vanessa yawned. "…Find anything?"

"No…" Jessica responded. "I've looked through Marina's page probably 10 times at this point… The girl built and invented a lot of things, but strangely, nanotechnology is not on the list."

"You ever gonna introduce me to her?"

"Well, she thinks I'm dead, so, I'd rather not…" She sighed. "What about Ayesha's page? Did that lead you to anything?"

Vanessa moved the laptop to show her, allowing her to see a picture of the psychotic-looking Octoling, who was wearing the standard Octarian military gear and goggles from Octo Valley. "No. In fact, it's kind of unnerving how little information is available for her… She doesn't even have a last name, and it doesn't hold any of her history records like any other Octarian."

Jessica peeked, and sure enough, it was a rather bare bones page of just **"Ayesha" **with minimal information on it. "…Maybe the Underdogs cleaned the information out…"

"Or the girl just isn't that interesting."

"You'd be surprised." She sighed and leaned back. "If the Underdogs are covering themselves up in even the Octarian database, then we might need to be changing gears…"

"Well, why would the Underdogs clear out her whole history instead of just the parts that matter to this case? Wouldn't that be suspicious? Maybe it was another reason."

"...True… Just… Keep looking. Start looking for scientists, maybe."

"Copy that… " She replied lazily before laying back down with her laptop.

Jessica did the same, and they continued searching for a good while before Vanessa finally spoke up again. "Hey, Jess."

"Hm?" Jessica turned to her.

"I found something."

"What?" She went over to see.

Vanessa was currently on the page of a former Octoling scientist named Mia Harper. The picture showed that she was quite pretty, having purple tentacurl hair.

"Who is that?"

"Mia Harper. She's the scientist who apparently invented and originally led the design of nanotechnology. According to this."

Jessica took the laptop and read it over, confirming what Vanessa said. It explained how Mia had been into science since she was a kid and engineering since she was 14, and went on to invent the concept of nanotechnology weapons around when she was 18. She was described to have been the lead engineer on such weapons up until she was among the many Octolings to vanish and move to Inkopolis after Agent 3 raided Octo Valley. The history biography, however, cut off there.

"So she's presumably in Inkopolis…"

"You think she's our next lead?" Vanessa asked. "I mean, it's nice to know where the nanotechnology came from, but that doesn't mean she's working for the Underdogs."

"Wouldn't hurt to ask her. Plus, if she's not, she can maybe still point us in the right direction."

"Right…"

Jessica went back to her own laptop and closed the Octarian database, before doing a google search for Mia Harper, scrolling through and clicking on the links until she found something. Vanessa peered over her shoulder as she did. It didn't take her long at all to find an identical Octoling with the same name, and to their surprise, she was apparently currently working as a stripper in Inkopolis.

"She's a stripper? Where?"

"Some strip club named Inky Cheeks…"

She stared at her. "…Inky Cheeks?"

"Don't look at me, I'm just reading it out loud." She then googled the club so that she could get the address.

"You think she's working there tonight?"

"Um…" She went to the club's website and looked at the schedules. "Yes. She should be there now."

"Let's go pay her a visit then." Vanessa pulled out her car keys and flipped then in her hand. "Ever been to a strip club before?"

"Nope. You?"

"Maybe a couple times…" They closed their laptops and headed to the front door. "I almost worked at one once, actually."

"Why does that not surprise me?" She replied as they headed out.

* * *

**Inky Cheeks**

Jessica and Vanessa were soon let in to the club and were quickly hit with loud music as they walked in. It was a somewhat dimly lit area, yet had flashing lights that they passed every once in a while, as they looked around at the many girls in the building that were dancing around. Some were dancing on poles, most of them in lingerie, some of them completely bare naked.

"Hm. Not bad." Vanessa commented on some of the strippers they passed as they explored the area, while Jessica seemed more laser focused on finding their target. "Do you get to do fun stuff like this often in your vigilante work?" She eventually asked Jessica.

"Vigilante work gets you into some weird shit but it's rarely that fun." She replied, looking around and actively scanning the area. There were a lot of dancing girls to look through, however, so they ended up walking around for a few minutes, Vanessa admiring all the dancers as they passed.

There were a lot of partying guys in the area too, and while most of them seemed focused on the dancers, there were a couple people walking around like them, giving the duo teasing winks as they passed. To Jessica's annoyance, Vanessa winked back, and even gave some of them seductive looks.

"Stay focused, asshole…" She sighed.

"Sorry…" Vanessa replied casually. "But we're in a strip club right now if you haven't noticed so it's kinda hard to not be having fun right now."

"Yeah, well, sorry to cut your fun short, but…" She nodded straight ahead, at the familiar Octoling. "That looks like her."

Vanessa eyed her down as well. She was currently dancing around on a table surrounded by a group of guys, and was completely topless, only wearing lingerie panties and high heels. "Holy shit, she's a bombshell."

"Yeah, she's cute." They walked forward and ended up watching her show for a bit before she wrapped up, and the group of guys surrounding her dispersed to look at other dancers, allowing them to walk up.

Mia looked like she was getting ready to wrap up and take a break, but Vanessa suddenly threw a bag of coins at her feet, catching her attention. She smiled a little down at the girls.

"Think we can get a private dance?" Vanessa asked casually, although she couldn't help but smile a little bit.

Mia knelt down just to confirm how much money Vanessa tossed her, and grinned wider at them. "For that share, honey, I can give you both some alone time…" She said seductively.

"Perfect. Just what we came for."

"And you… might wanna put on a bra." Jessica added.

* * *

The next thing Mia knew, she was suddenly forcefully shoved into the alleyway behind the strip club nearby the dumpsters, still in the process of slipping on her bra. She had dropped her whole seductive act at this point and seemed much more nervous. "W-What the hell do you want with me!?" She yelled. "You really had to take me to an alleyway just to fuck me when I was about to take you to a private room!?"

"We're not here for the sex." Jessica said, putting on her more threatening side. "We're here for information and you're going to give it to us."

"Information? About what?"

"The Underdogs."

Mia tensed up even further.

"...So you know them?" Vanessa asked. "There… isn't going to be something popping out of your gut too, is there?"

"W-What?" She seemed confused by the last part. "I… why do you want to know about them?"

"If you know about the Underdogs then you should know damn well why…" Jessica replied.

"I swear to you, I don't know anything about the Underdogs! I just… maybe know who they are!"

"Like names?" Jessica looked at Vanessa, and then back at her. "That's all we need."

"But I'm not about to just tell you… I… those assholes are dangerous, you don't wanna go anywhere near them!"

"Honey, going near them is my job. Now tell us who they are."

Mia stared at them nervously, before suddenly trying to run away.

"Hey!" Jessica went and grabbed her before she could get too far, before slamming her against the wall and pulling out a splattershot, pointing it directly in her face.

"H-Holy shit!" Mia stared at it, wide-eyed.

Vanessa, who also seemed a little bit taken by her sudden aggressiveness, gulped a little bit. "Ok, Jess, I think we should maybe-"

Jessica cut her off, keeping her focus on Mia. "I have quite a long history with some of the people in the Underdogs and I'm really not in the mood to be playing games anymore. And if I have to splat you right now, so help me god, you're going to be in for the nastiest god damn night you've ever experienced. Either way, you're giving me answers by the morning."

Mia, meanwhile, was staring at Jessica, obviously recognizing her face and, surprisingly, only becoming more calm as a result. "…It's you…"

Jessica didn't say anything, just keeping her pinned.

"I knew you looked familiar… You're Agent 3…" Mia said. She then looked at her makeover. "Just wasn't sure because of the new look… which looks nice, by the way…"

Jessica loosened her grip a little bit, but was still holding her still. "I used to be Agent 3… now I'm just your worst nightmare."

"My worst nightmare? Y-You're my hero…"

"...What?"

"That day you infiltrated Octo Valley… publicly defeated Octavio like that. That beautiful song the Squid Sisters were playing… That day, it… changed my life… for the better… it finally helped me get away from those assholes."

Jessica stared at her for a few seconds, finding her grip loosening more and more. She actually felt a bit… like a hero again. Like a person who had helped a lot of people over her career as Agent 3. She lowered her gun.

"...P-Please let me go, and I'll… tell you everything I know…" Mia continued.

Jessica obliged, but remained mostly silent, as Mia relaxed. She stayed on guard in case Mia tried to run off again, but Mia did no such thing, actually standing there as if she was ready to talk. Vanessa looked at Jessica, wondering what was going through her head at the moment.

"...So talk." Jessica finally spoke.

"...Can we get out of here first, then? Somewhere private?" Mia requested.

Jessica looked at Vanessa, who nodded, and then back at Mia. She also nodded.

* * *

**A Bit Later**

"So… yes… I'm an Octarian scientist. Was." Mia started. She was currently fully clothed and sitting in her own apartment, with Jessica and Vanessa sitting nearby on a couch. "…I… first engineered nanotechnology when I was 18. And frankly, I didn't even receive a lot of recognition for it. I guess that was because… that Marina Ida chick had already built so many cool things on her own, and the Octarians in general already had all this technology, so… not too many people cared. But I did. It was… it could've been revolutionary. The sort of weapons you can design with it."

"What kind of weapons?" Jessica asked.

"...All sorts. You could create a whole arsenal of combat weapons, you could create armor, you could create… weapons of mass destruction…" She looked down.

Jessica and Vanessa looked at each other, Vanessa looking somewhat nervous at the last part.

"...Are they any weapons of mass destruction that exist currently?"

"...Yes." Mia said. "But I swear to you… I never built anything that extreme myself. Other people… did get their hands on the technology."

"The Underdogs…"

"Exactly." She sat down. "I don't know all that much about the Underdogs and how they function, but I know the man at the top. And I know what he… wants to do with that technology…"

"And who is it? What does he want?"

"...His name is Hugh Ward. He's an Octoling I knew. He was always obsessed with… coming to Inkopolis and starting his own crusade."

"And what does he want with his crusade?"

"...He wants to tear this city to the ground. He wants to kill everyone he can, and wipe out Inkling culture entirely so that the Octarians can take over one day, starting with Inkopolis."

Jessica and Vanessa again looked at each other for a few seconds, before Vanessa then turned back to Mia and spoke up. "If he wants to destroy the city and if he was the ability to do so, what was the point of blowing up a bank?"

"I don't know. I don't know any of that, I swear. And I know none of this has to do with Octavio either. Hugh Ward, he's his own man with his own mission for the Octarians, the Underdogs are all under him."

Jessica sighed. This was admittedly the most information they got about the Underdogs ever since she and Cuttlefish first began tracking them. "…Do you happen to know why he's using Daniel Murdock as his Executioner?"

"Who?"

"Um… never mind…" She looked down. " Anyway… the… weapons of mass destruction that you mentioned. Are they in the city?"

"...I know there's one. In the city. And I believe it's the one he'll use, even if I don't know what it is exactly."

"Where exactly?"

"I… don't know… I swear, whatever their terrorist plots are, I'm not involved to be able to know that much."

Jessica sighed loudly and dropped her head in frustration.

"I can maybe point you in the right direction, though."

She raised her head again.

Mia suddenly went to grab a notepad and a pen, and then returned, writing down something on it. She then tore off the note and handed it to Jessica. It had an address on it. "Those are where some of the other scientists who left the domes with me work now. I know for a fact they do still work on nanotechnology experiments and they might be tied to the Underdogs. I don't know for sure."

She memorized the address before folding the note up and stuffing it in her pocket. "…Thanks…"

"...If you do find Hugh Ward…" Mia continued. "…Please kill him for me. You can stop this shit once and for all. I know you can."

"I'm… not…" She sighed, hesitating. "…I will."

Mia nodded gratefully. "Thank you… for everything…"

Jessica just nodded in response and then stood up, Vanessa standing up with her. "I should go now, but uh… maybe we should trade numbers. Keep in contact just in case."

"Yeah, um, sure… just…" She wrote down her number on another note, tore it off, and handed it to her.

Jessica again folded it and slipped it in her pocket. "Thanks." Then, with Vanessa, she left. Mia watched as they did, as if she was looking at a hero figure she genuinely admired.

Jessica and Vanessa went back out to where they parked their car, and Vanessa got in the driver seat. Once Jessica was also seated, she started it up.

"...You know…" Vanessa started. "You _are_ a total hero. Even if you don't see yourself as one anymore."

"Well, back when I was a 'hero', I got my apartment blown up and I let everyone I care about down, so…" Jessica looked out the window.

"Jess, that was one mistake."

"One mistake that ruined everything."

"It doesn't matter. Just… did you see the way she looked at you? She looks at you like you're some crazy comic book hero."

"I'm not a comic book hero."

"No, but you might as well be one."

Jessica sighed, deep in thought.

"You've helped so many people. And you're about to save a whole lot more, doing this. Once we take that son of a bitch down."

"I'm not in this for the hero shit anymore." She turned back to Vanessa. "I don't care about saving the city anymore. I don't care about helping a single soul out there anymore."

Vanessa stopped, staring at her with a disappointed look on her face.

Jessica started tearing up. "…I'm just doing this shit so I can find my brother. So that I can fix my god damn past!" She sighed. "…I'm not Agent 3 anymore, and I never will be again."

"...You really care that little about helping people?"

"...I don't know anymore." She looked back out the window. "I don't know what I want. I'm just… so confused…"

"...Well, I doubt Cuttlefish would be too happy to hear you say that. Or your Bridgett friend. Or anyone from the Splatoon, for that matter…"

Jessica didn't respond to that, just silently crying as she stared out the window. Vanessa sighed and finally put the car on drive, taking them home.


	14. The Weapon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica begins her search on a dangerous weapon that is owned by the Underdogs. Meanwhile, the Underdogs are on their own quest to find and kill Jessica.

**The Next Day**

**Underdogs Facility**

It was the usual cold and somewhat dark day in just one of the Underdog facilities, although the area wasn't exactly in a state of peace and quiet. Within its walls, there were quite a few Octoling members of the terrorist organization, all deep in intense training, and all of them were currently only focused on one goal: Kill Agent 3.

Ayesha, who was the owner of this specific facility, was walking around and studying all the training Octolings. Some were doing target practice, while some were working out, and she gave a select few of them either seductive or threatening looks depending on how pleased she was with progress.

Finally, a female Octoling soldier with a tablet came up to her, although she seemed quite shy, mostly because she knew damn well what Ayesha could be like. "…A-Ayesha…?"

"Yes, babe?" She turned to her.

"Um… I have something to report."

"Business or personal?"

"Business. U-Um… our men got word that the Mia Harper chick… um… she invented the nanotechnology, if you-"

"I'm aware."

"R-Right… A-Anyway… our men got word that Mia Harper got a visit at the strip club she works at yesterday. Someone came up to her and pulled her out."

She didn't seem all too interested in this information, and was giving her the more threatening look as opposed to the seductive one. "And why am I hearing about this?"

She gulped. "B-Because Ward insisted that someone investigate, so I did, and I hacked into the security camera at the club… I came out with this…" She turned the tablet to show Ayesha a screenshot of the video footage she took, and Ayesha peered to see that in the paused moment, even if it was at an angle, Jessica Murdock's face was visible on the camera.

"Aw… she looks so hot…" Ayesha smiled, before looking back up at the soldier with her more seductive look. "…Tell me more and I'll take care of it."

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Downtown Inkopolis**

A couple Octolings entered a small warehouse downtown, which had lines of boxes stationed on the inside. There were a few Octolings inside already, who all looked like they were wrapping up work for the day.

The Octolings were all talking among themselves, even sharing some casual laughs as they went about their work.

"Hey, you ever hear back from Trey?" One asked.

"No. He's dead."

"Oh, shit. Seriously?" A third Octoling said. "What happened to him?"

"Heard the Underdogs had to get rid of him. If I had to guess, he spilled information."

"Damn… Trey was a good one…"

"Who the hell would he spill information to?" The first one asked again.

"Word going around is that Agent 3 is back and hunting the Underdogs." A fourth Octoling said.

"Ha! Yeah, right! No one has heard from that bitch in months."

"It's not like the Underdogs would tell is if she was, though." He added. "Guys up top don't tell us shit and you know it…"

"I still doubt she's back. Stop being so nervous about everything, man."

"Whatever… is that everything?"

"Yes, that's everything. Let's close up shop!" He called out, and was met back with cheers.

One Octoling went to turn off the lights, but long before he could even reach it, the lights suddenly shut off on their own. "What…?"

"Did the power go out?"

"Must be an outage."

"Go check the breakers."

"On it." One Octoling walked off to do so, and the area fell into silence as they waited for the lights to come back on.

A few moments passed before the silence was interrupted by a grunt and the sound of someone falling to the floor.

"What the hell?"

"Tim?"

"Shit…"

All of the remaining Octolings pulled out weapons, looking everywhere they could, trying their best to see through the darkness. Only a couple of them had flashlights. Then, on the opposite side of the building from where they heard the Octoling collapse, they heard something fall down with a clank sound. They all desperately turned in that direction, before they then heard footsteps coming from multiple directions.

"Who's there!?" Someone screamed. "Drop the spook act and come out already with your hands up! All of you!"

"Alright." A female voice agreed, followed by the sound of a Splattershot opening fire and one of the Octolings getting splatted.

"Son of a bitch!" They all opened fire, but none of them could really do anything as they were picked off one by one by the unseen intruder in the darkness, and they were all soon splatted in black ink.

At that moment, the lights then turned back on, Jessica casually standing in the mess with a Splattershot, sighing to herself.

Vanessa, who had turned off and on the lights, walked up to her, surprised. "Wow… they didn't even stand a chance…"

"I'm more used to fighting in the dark than you'd think…" Jessica explained, before they began searching the warehouse for what they had came for.

"This is Mia's address?"

"Yep."

"It doesn't look very sciency…"

"She said she was only gonna lead us in the right direction, not straight to the weapon. And…" She opened up a box, which was filled with what looked to be somewhat advanced nanotechnology weapons and blueprints of even more dangerous ones. "Lead us in the right direction she did…"

Vanessa came over to look. "Wow…"

"Come on. Let's get out of here before those assholes reform." She grabbed the blueprints and closed up the box again.

* * *

It didn't take long at all for Vanessa to drive them back to her place, and they laid out the blueprints on the dining room table, standing together and looking them over. They had stolen multiple sheets, and some of them showed more basic weapon designs, while one of them seemed… much more deadly. They looked at it closely.

It was what appeared to be a pretty large metal canister with what seemed to be a dome-shaped topping, but that wasn't what scared them. The notes on the sheet described how it had a _lot _of nanites housed inside, and that once activated, it could produce metal spikes large enough to grow and take down the whole city.

"Oh my god…" Vanessa mouthed. "Is that the weapon of mass destruction she mentioned?"

"...Must be…" Jessica replied.

"I pictured a nuke..."

"We're dealing with nanotechnology here. And this could be just as bad as a nuke… maybe even worse…"

"What do you mean?"

"This one is large enough to tear down an entire city according to this. No doubt it's here and they're planning to use it on Inkopolis. And if they want to tear down all of Inkling society… and if they have the resources to build even larger weapons than this…"

"...They could take out all the major locations on the surface world…"

"Look at this." She pointed to one of the notes. "Basically infinite nanites at their disposal just because of how easily they could create them with energy. The spikes literally grow more nanites as they build and grow off of each other, and that's how they can grow so large. How is that even possible?"

"Well, this is Octarian technology…"

"Technology fucking sucks…"

"It can, sometimes."

"So now we know what we're up against… now, how to find the weapon and destroy it before it can be activated would be next."

"Jesus… we might just need to get the whole Splatoon in on this."

"That's not an option and you know it. This is up to us…"

"Can't we at least get your Octoling friend in on this? Bridgett?"

Jessica looked down and ignored her, staring down at the blueprints. It was at that moment something caught her eye. "…I found something."

"What?" Vanessa looked as well.

She looked through each of the blueprints, and then pointed to the corner to one of them. "There's addresses on these… and they're all the same. Can you look up what it is?"

"On it." Vanessa quickly went to her laptop, powered it on, and then brought it back to the table, googling the address. She quickly found what the location was. "It's an Octarian lab. In the city."

"It must be the Underdogs… Mia's scientist friends." She looked at her. "The weapon must be there."

"Are we going there now?"

"I am." She slipped her hand in Vanessa's pocket and stole her car keys from her again, flipping them in her hand.

"Hey!"

"Stay here. I'll be back." She headed for the door.

"I thought we were partners on this now, asshole!"

"The deal was that you lend a helping hand with finding them and I do the dangerous stuff, remember?" Jessica said, lingering at the door. "I don't do partners. Especially not in combat."

"Are you serious!?"

"Yep." She opened the door and then left, shutting it behind her.

"Well… fuck you too, then!" Vanessa angrily kicked something and sat down with a huff.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

"So what if she caused me a lot of pain in the past? …Yes, I'm aware most my problems ultimately stem from her… But I… No, maybe I don't wanna kill her anymore… I mean, I do, but… Man, I don't know, I just… want her to be my sister… like when we were kids… I… Hey, don't you dare call me weak! You haven't exactly been doing much yourself! Just talking shit to me is what you do, and nothing more!" Daniel angrily yelled at his Executioner mask, despite the fact there was literally no one else in his apartment. Just him and his mask, sitting alone. "Jesus Christ, will you just shut the fuck up and let me think for once!?" He continued.

Suddenly, the mask actually made a sound, what sounded like static feedback coming from inside the mask. He jumped a little bit, wondering if the sound was just in his head, but then he remembered it was the com system that the mask had. Someone in the Underdogs was attempting to call him. Gulping, he shakily grabbed the mask and put it on.

"...Hello?" He asked, the voice scrambler feature of the mask currently powered off.

_"Hiiii again, sweetiepie…" _Ayesha could be heard on the other end. _"How's your life going? Find Agent 3 yet?"_

"...No…" He admitted. "Not yet… I'm… looking… I've been looking nonstop…" He lied.

_"That's very good. Just what I expected of you, babe… Lucky you, I might've found a leeaaad~"_

"What lead?"

_"We caught Jessie Murdock talking to a stripper yesterday. On camera. The stripper's name is…" _She paused and hummed a little tune to herself as she real quick went to double check the name. _"Mia Harper. I'm sure that won't be a problem for you…"_

"...It won't."

_"Then get on it. And when Jessie Murdock is dead… maybe I can give your stick down there a lick. And then if we're really lucky…" _She dropped her voice to a whisper. _"I'll get to put my knife in your throat and REALLY suck you dry…"_

He sighed. "Um… just… Mia Harper. I'm on it. I'll find her."

_"Good. See you later, babe~" _The line went dead.

Daniel pulled off his mask again and looked at it, sighing again to himself. "…Don't ever call me weak again…"

* * *

**Later**

**Edge of Inkopolis**

Jessica brought her car over and then parked it somewhat far away from her destination, the Octarian laboratory, which was somewhat isolated from the rest of the city in a more quiet parking lot area. Fully aware it was Octarian, she carefully stepped out and walked forward a little, eyeing the lab. Sure enough, there were a couple Octoling guards up front.

"Shit…" She sighed, thinking through her strategy. She was aware before that she probably wasn't gonna be able to just walk in casually, but it still frustrated her. As silently as she could, she pulled out her Splattershot to real quick check up on it, before she again hid it in her clothes and headed for the lab.

The guards, who had been through a break-in before, were on extra alert, Octoshots out and ready to shoot any uninvited guests. Jessica realized she could probably just walk up and splat them both easily, as she was skilled enough, but she figured it was smarter to play this more stealthily to not gain attention. Using her squid form and the cars in the lot to hide, she stealthily made her way up to the outside walls of the lab and ducked to the side of the building, completely going unnoticed by the guards. Then, just loudly enough to attract one of the guard's attention, she tossed a small rock out so that they could see.

Only one of the guards up front noticed. "What was that?"

"What?" The second guard asked.

"A rock just moved on its own…"

She shrugged. "Probably a bird or something…"

"...After the shrinking girl incident, I'm not taking any chances…" She rose her Octoshot and started sneaking over, preparing to shoot anything. "Stay here."

"Whatever…"

The first guard slowly walked up to where the rock had landed, and then suddenly and as silently as possible, was grabbed in a headlock by Jessica and pulled out of view.

The second guard didn't notice at first, but was soon realizing that her partner had disappeared. Calling her name, she decided to briefly leave her post to check up on her, and sure enough, was grabbed by Jessica in the same exact fashion until she was unconscious.

With both guards down and no one else to hear, Jessica then pulled out her Splattershot and splatted them both at her feet, just to make sure they stayed down for longer, before she hid the weapon in her clothes again and freely entered the lab.

The lab itself seemed pretty inactive today; it was silent and there were only a couple people around it seemed. So, with the exception of having to duck and hide and couple times, Jessica was mostly able to freely roam the lab, and even explore through some rooms. There were lots of strange, seemingly nanotechnology based weapons here, and as a result, a lot of them looked quite futuristic. It was actually pretty cool.

As she roamed the halls, she could see said weapons through the windows into the lab rooms, mainly looking around for hints toward the weapon of mass destruction she was looking for. After a while of searching, however, she didn't exactly see it, instead coming across many of the smaller weapons. Who knew what they were planning with these; probably terrorism related, she guessed.

She decided to give some of the weapons a look since not many people seemed to be around anyway. Laser swords, retractable weapons, other strange things she couldn't even identify, and more, were some of the things she came across, and she even stopped to play around with them for a couple seconds. There was one weapon, however, that actually really caught her attention.

It, at first, just seemed like some kind of a strange bronze handle with a small button on it. Once she pressed the button, however, it turned out to be a golden, double-edged metal spear, the two edges suddenly growing out from the handle and nearly stabbing her in the head in the process.

"Woah…" She jumped, before stopping to admire it. It was _very _comfortable for her; it was long and yet could be retracted into the small handle, was really light despite it being metal, and from what she could tell by the visual and a little bit of feeling, was very sharp. It was a spear, but she felt she could also use it kind of like a double-edge sword or something. Nonetheless, she chose to stay on mission, and retracted it again before leaving it on the table.

The moment she did, however, all of the lights in the building suddenly turned red as the lab slammed into lockdown mode, accompanied by the sound of an alarm. Surprised, she looked around, and of course, she saw a security camera pointed right at her in the corner of the room; something she should've been careful for. "Shit!" She yelled to herself. How could she be so stupid? Was her judgement affected when she got her brain damage or something?

Nonetheless, she didn't have time to sit around and kick herself; taking out her Splattershot and keeping her steps quick yet quiet, she left the room she was in and continued navigating the halls, this time to locate the exit.

Soon, however, before she was even getting close to the exit, she found that her path was cut off; a couple Octoling scientists had blocked off the path in front of her, but strangely, they didn't seem armed. Without even thinking, she raised her Splattershot and pulled the trigger, but strangely, nothing but a little _click _happened, despite the fact it was full of ink. It was almost as if the weapon was… deactivated. "…What…?"

The Octolings in front of her weren't moving, just standing there to keep her from leaving, and when Jessica turned around, she saw that there were more Octolings coming up behind her. She was alone, cornered, outnumbered, and unarmed.

Then, the closest intercom speaker to them buzzed to life, Ayesha's voice sounding. _"Hiii, Jessie… it's good to see you again… too bad it can't be in person…"_

Jessica looked around briefly, seeing another security camera, again pointed at her. She eyed it. "…What happened to my weapon?"

_"...You really made a grave mistake, coming here, sweetheart… Pretty sure I heard one time that the engineers here were working on an electronic device that could disable any nearby guns. And we wouldn't want dear old Agent 3 here running around and splatting everyone, now would we? Quite interesting technology, but whatever, it doesn't concern me… You, however…" _She giggled. _"You're going to die!"_

Jessica wasn't so amused. "Where's the weapon? That can destroy the city?"

_"Gotta tell ya… I don't even know if it's here. That's a question you're going to have to ask your stripper friend in the afterlife…"_

"Harper…" She mouthed, looking down.

_"It's a shame what you've been forcing us to do, Agent 3. Daniel was supposed to kill you, and now that I'm going to be able to kill your first… guess he's gonna be fresh ink for me instead. Oh, don't worry. I'm sure things won't be as painful as if I was there to do it myself… but I'm sure I'll be able to get a few lick in from your corpse…" _She giggled again.

She paused to let Jessica respond, but she remained silent.

_"...Nothing? Not even your sad 'Oh, help me, help me, please don't kill me! Spare me Ayesha!'?" _Nothing. _"…Fine. Lemme tell you this, then, Agent 3. These guys are gonna cut your throat open… you're gonna know pain… We're gonna see to that people like your stripper, your Cap'n Cuttlefish, that Octoling vigilante, all get the same treatment… wherever that Octoling is… and then, maybe, we'll pay the rest of your precious Splatoon band visits too. I'm sure they'd love to meet me. Then, finally, we can live in peace without you flies bothering us."_

Jessica just angrily stared down the security camera, as if her lips were sealed.

Ayesha again seemed disappointed that Jessica was remaining silent. _"…Whatever. I've had my fun. Enjoy hell, babe. I'm sure I'll see you there at one point~" _She made a kissing sound just before the intercom went dead.

Jessica looked down from the camera and back at the Octolings that surrounded her, looking back and forth at them. None of them seemed to have any weapons, so she was gonna be forced into a fist fight here, and judging by how things have been going lately for her after her brain damage, things weren't looking too good for her.

The Octolings also seemed a bit nervous by how slowly they were approaching her, but they looked strong and skilled enough to easily take her down if she wasn't careful. Jessica stood her ground, waiting for one of them to make a move.

Then, finally, the first scientist rushed forward, swinging her fist at her, but Jessica swiftly dodged, punching her back and slamming her into the wall. The other Octolings then came forward, and Jessica dodged all of their attacks to her best ability, managing to counter some of them. These Octolings obviously didn't seem too used to pain, because a couple of them had to take breaks as soon as she hit them, giving Jessica the opportunity to beat down on the ones closest to her until they rejoined the fight.

Of course, despite how well she was doing so far, Jessica was soon reminded that she was still outnumbered and alone, and was unable to do much as a couple Octolings grabbed her from behind and shoved her face-first into the wall, whaling on her back, which admittedly hurt. All of the Octolings were closing in to gang up on her at once, so she had to act fast; she used to legs to kick the one that was holding her away, and then turned around, punching her, before being decked in the face herself by another one.

She didn't have an opportunity to even react to the pain, however, as the Octolings were still attacking her. Using a combination of her legs and arms, she fought them off to her best ability, again scaring some of them off temporarily. The toughest male Octoling, however, barely even seemed to care, just taking a brief moment to wipe the ink that was bleeding from his nose before again swiping at her. She grabbed him, shoved him against the wall, and punched him another three times, although it wasn't enough to knock him out before she was grabbed by another Octoling and knocked to the ground.

Jessica groaned in pain as she tanked a couple hits from whoever knocked her down, and desperately whammed her in the head as hard as she could, successfully knocking her unconscious. The Octoling toppled to the ground, but there were still four other Octolings for her to take care of, and all of them still wanted her dead. Now was the part that she was getting another reminder that she wasn't really as fit as she used to be, and she was already feeling a bit exhausted, struggling just to get back up to her feet.

Halfway through the process, one Octoling came up to her in an attempt to keep her down, but she effortlessly punched him in the stomach and then punched him again across the jaw multiple times, successfully knocking him out as well. Two down, three to go.

Feeling weaker, she finally got back up to her feet, but two of the remaining three Octolings were now running at her, again shoving her into the wall. She did her best to fight back, but found that her punches were now weaker and more pathetic, disabling her from doing much. So, she instead attempted to use her weight to shove them down, but this quickly proved to be a bad idea. The Octoling she grabbed effortlessly picked her up and slammed her against the wall, disabling her even further. She groaned out in pain before he then started running down the hall, attempting to ram her into the wall even harder, but the other Octolings were getting cocky and attempted to help out as this happened, causing them to topple through a door and into one of the lab rooms.

The Octoling was thankfully weakened by this and he lost his grip on Jessica, but Jessica was still getting weaker by the moment, and was currently lying on the ground as she somewhat lazily attempted to get back up. Two of the Octolings were again ganging up on her, forcing her to fight back, but she again wasn't able to do much, and was quickly overpowered and punched in the face multiple times, which sent her flying across the room. She crashed against a table and collapsed to the ground, experiencing another brief seizure from the head trauma.

The Octolings went up to her, thinking they knocked her unconsious, but instead, Jessica had already recovered from her seizure, and was now desperately crawling on the ground, exhausted and needing to catch her breath. She was bleeding from both her mouth and her nose as she panted for air, and the Octolings both kicked her, splattering some of her ink across their legs. Jessica turned on her back and tanked the hits, desperately looking around for something, anything she could use to turn the tides in her favor.

Luckily, the universe was apparently shining down on her this time, as it didn't take long for her to notice the bronze spear handle she was messing around with earlier on the ground nearby. She again turned on her stomach to crawl over as the Octolings kicked her, and one Octoling kicked her right in the face, again knocking her into another seizure. It was only a few more seconds before she came down from it and was able to start crawling forward again, and weakly grabbed the spear handle.

She immediately turned around once it was in her hand and brought it to one of the Octolings' stomach as she pressed the trigger, and the spear instantly grew out, stabbing him straight through the abdomen and splattering his ink behind him as if from a gunshot wound. He gagged, before Jessica retracted the spear and grabbed him, knocking him down and leaving him to bleed out on the floor.

The second Octoling, who had backed up once she saw the spear, again went up to kick Jessica once she saw she retracted it. Jessica, however, wasn't having that, and again summoned the spear ends, slashing the Octoling across the stomach and then her throat as she stood up with all her strength.

As Jessica finally successfully got back up to her feet, still panting for air, there was one Octoling left in the room, and was the toughest male one that was giving her trouble earlier. He reluctantly yet bravely went up to her and attempted to knock the weapon from her hands, but Jessica was able to avoid his attack, before countering by driving the spear straight up through his jaw, cutting through his mouth and his brain before popping out at the top of his head, instantly killing him.

Jessica retracted the spear, allowing the dead Octoling to collapse to the floor, before she finally took a moment to catch her breath. All of her muscles still felt weak, and she was bleeding all over her jacket. Now seemingly alone, she put the spear handle in her pocket, deciding to take it with her this time just in case, and grabbed a towel that was in the room to clean herself off a bit.

Then, to her dismay, a loud high-pitched screech suddenly filled the room, causing her to grunt and cover her ears, before she noticed that the three dead Octolings in the room were actually shaking and convulsing as if they were zombies. She kept her ears covered as she watched in confusion, the sound very unbearable this time.

A mere moment passed before, just like with Trey Jefferson, the three Octolings suddenly burst open as metal spikes began protruding from them, growing from their insides, and were collectively already growing to fill up the room. Jessica gasped in surprise and backed up, but quickly gained her senses and ran out of the room, to see that the two other Octolings that were left unconsious in the hall were also bursting open with their own metal spikes.

Mustering her strength to navigate the hallways and make her grand escape, Jessica ran to find the exit as fast as she could, although she couldn't run at her max speed because of how weak she felt. It didn't take her long to notice that there were even more metal spikes growing from throughout the whole building, probably from other Octolings that were hidden, and were not only turning the halls into more of a maze than they already were, but were growing fast enough and large enough to soon take out of the whole building.

She continued running, faster now, having to swiftly dodge incoming spikes as she did, seeing that much of the halls were now becoming inaccessible. In fact, the path in front of her was starting to become walled off as well. Desperately, she ran forward, this time using her squid form to squeeze through to her best ability and maybe do small super jumps over some of the larger walls, before she was finally able to see the exit.

As the building was on shut down, the doors were covered in metal bars at the moment, but she needed to get out, now. Stopping by the door, she again turned to her squid form and began building all the momentum she could, before she used a large super jump to headbutt through the doors, successfully breaking through and landing a bit of a distance away from the lab.

Having landed in some woods nearby, she reverted to her humanoid form and laid down on the dirt, panting heavily. She had definitely pushed her body far past her current limit back there, and was now so exhausted, she wasn't even sure she could get back up. Lying on her back as she caught her breath, she stared up at the trees and the sky above, her exhaustion still getting to her. Despite her best efforts to stay awake, fully aware the Underdogs were probably still looking for her, she was unable to, and her eyes shut themselves as she passed out.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

Daniel was nervously sitting in the back of a van, a few other Underdogs with him, preparing their weapons. He was again staring at the Executioner mask, and had to stop himself from starting another conversation with it, knowing that the Octolings with him could probably hear.

After a moment, he again heard the static feedback coming from the mask, and he again thought he was hearing things, but quickly realized what it was and slipped on the mask. "…Hello?"

_"Hiii, again, Danny…" _Ayesha sighed, not sounding so happy this time. _"Your precious sister got away…"_

"...What happened?"

_"She infiltrated that lab that was stationed at the edge of the city... and somehow, the slimy but pretty girl got away. We don't know where she went."_

He sighed and looked down.

_"So you can continue with your mission, sweetie… The deal is still on, if you can find her before we can… we don't have to kill you…" _She licked her lips a little, which he could hear.

"...Understood." He replied, and the line went dead. Sighing again, he turned on the voice changer in his mask and then stood up, turning to the rest of the Octolings in the van. _"Let's go."_

He opened the door, and they all exited the van, heading across the street to the strip club they had been lingering outside of; _Inky Cheeks. _They made their way up to where the entrance was, where there was a guard standing who had to check people's IDs.

He looked at Daniel strangely. "Um, sir, we don't allow masks in-" He was interrupted as Daniel suddenly grabbed his head and turned it as hard as he could in a 180, and he collapsed dead at his feet. A couple people, who were nearby to see, screamed in surprise and ran off.

_"Guns ready." _He told the Octolings, pulling out his charger, as they then entered the club. Like usual, there were a lot of people inside, watching as many Inklings danced around on poles or elsewhere, some of them naked or at least topless. Their fun, however, was suddenly interrupted as the Underdogs began randomly opening fire at the crowd, prompting lots of screams and running, as many people fell down dead.

Daniel made his way through the crowd, locating his target, listening to the music as he watched. He actually kind of enjoyed the tune that was on, which was giving the exact opposite vibes from the current situation that was happening. It didn't take him long to come across his Octoling target, who was in lingerie and crouched up against the wall, trembling in fear when she saw him. He walked up to her. _"…Mia Harper."_

Her eyes widened. "…W-What do you want?"

He ignored her, staring her down. _"…You're quite beautiful."_

She continued staring at him, her eyes wide, fully seeing his charger in hand. She braced for her likely death, and barely even fought back as Daniel then walked up to her. Her screams could be heard from throughout the club a mere second later.


	15. Interrogation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Underdogs hunt down Jessica, Daniel is left to his own mission.

A cold breeze swept through the woods, creating a rustling sound among all the trees in the dead of night. The night in these woods wasn't so dead, however, as despite it being around 1 in the morning, multiple Octolings were navigating through the trees, in full armor and with chargers ready to shoot, which were complete with flashlights.

They mostly found nothing so far, at least nothing that they were looking for, but eventually, they came across something. "Get Ayesha over here!" The Octoling who noticed called out.

Within a few moments, Ayesha walked over curiously, having been looking with them. "Found something, babe?"

"I found this…" She held up a discarded Splattershot that had Jessica's black ink in it, that was disabled.

Ayesha took it and examined it, before looking at the ground by where the Octoling had found it, kneeling down by the leaves. Although it was kind of hard to tell, there was some black ink there, and the grass was a bit folded as if someone had been lying there for a little while before taking off.

"Looks like Agent 3 did indeed super jump here… and was injured…" The Octoling continued. "Orders, ma'am?"

Ayesha grinned, feeling some of the ink with her fingers before bringing it up to her tongue and licking it. "She tastes good… like I imagined…" She then stood up, looking around. Unfortunately for them, Jessica hadn't exactly left a trail. "Get Ward's permission to send out the choppers and we'll find her."

"Should we get the Executioner in on this, ma'am?"

"Danny boy is on his own mission, leave him be. We can find her perfectly fine."

The Octoling nodded and went to do as she said, as Ayesha and a few other Octolings continued searching the woods.

* * *

**The Lab**

Flashing red and blue lights paired with the screech of police sirens pierced the otherwise dark and quiet night, as a couple police cars pulled up to the now abandoned laboratory. Detective Grant Johnson quickly opened his car door and stepped out, eyeing down the mess before him. "…Holy shit."

Not only was the laboratory abandoned, it was absolutely destroyed now. Metal spikes were protruding from all around the building, having cut through all the walls before they stopped growing, and any and all windows had been shattered as a result, leaving the building surrounded by the shards as a result. They walked up to where the front door used to be, and although it was hard to see inside, it looked like all the indoor hallways were completely overtaken by whatever these spikes were.

"Check the perimeter!" He called out to a couple other police officers, while he and his partner stayed to observe the building. "Every time we think we've seen it all… What the hell do you think happened here?"

"Looks like some kind of… advanced technology… like these… spikes grew out from inside the building." She observed. "…I'd suggest something like… nanotechnology, but…"

"Yeah, no. Shit like that is fiction." He sighed. "…If those blueprints we found that led us here are indeed tied to the Underdogs, then… this case just got a whole hell of a lot weirder…"

"Nothing is impossible these days, sir." She commented toward his 'fictional' remark.

"It'd make our job easier if they were." He said, beginning to walk around the building. It didn't take them long to come across something a little bit shocking. "Hey, we need some medical attention over here!" He said before he got a good look, but once he did get a better look, he sighed. "…Never mind…"

The Octoling guards, that were previously standing by the front doors that had been attacked by Jessica, had apparently been caught directly by the spikes as they grew out, because both of them had been fatally stabbed in multiple areas by accident. They themselves didn't even have any of the same spikes grow out from inside them, making their fate that much more unfortunate, but they had obviously been deceased for many hours at this point, since both of them were ghostly pale, and the ink that was pouring out of them was more dried up.

Johnson sighed and checked their pulses as if there was any hope left of their survival, of course only further confirmed that there was no heartbeat. "…Get an ambulance here and we'll roll out the bodies… I wanna have these two Octolings here evaluated for potential ties to the Underdogs." He stood up.

"Understood." His partner replied before she walked off to do so.

Johnson, at that moment, then received a call on his radio. _"Detective?" _The officer on the other end started.

He grabbed it and held down the talk button. "This is Johnson."

* * *

**Inky Cheeks**

"We've evaluate the crime scene here at the strip club… and it's not looking good at all…" The officer on the other end continued. He was standing among many Inkling and some Octoling corpses, there once again being an obscene amount of ink everywhere, pouring out of half-naked strippers and club attendees alike. Many officers were going around, continuously examining the massive crime scene.

_"Explain." _Johnson commanded.

"Whoever these terrorists are, they once again came in and massacred everyone they could. We don't think a lot of people made it out, sir."

Johnson let out a defeated sigh of frustration.

"We're pretty sure these are the same guys who attacked the bank and the office, too."

_"Well, I doubt it's just a coincidence, so we're taking 'pretty sure' as an absolute certainty here. Start looking on clues for literally anything that will lead us to the Underdogs. I want all our men on this case, because I don't want another single innocent body going into the morgue because of them."_

"Well, if there's any good news, sir… we think we know why they attacked the club this time. Unlike the other two times, this one seemed more targeted, they were definitely looking for some reason. We've accounted for all the strippers in the building… most of them were killed, but one instead went missing during the attack, and we believe from the security footage that she was kidnapped."

_"Who?"_

"Mia Harper."

* * *

**Meanwhile**

Mia groaned as she finally woke up, and the first thing she did was look around. Her vision was a bit blurry, and there was a strange stabbing pain in her stomach now, but a long enough stare confirmed that she was… back in her apartment. Thank god.

She then attempted to move, but she wasn't so lucky with this part. Upon attempting to move her arms, she quickly noticed that they were tied up behind her, and that she was also tied up around her chest, pinning her down on a chair. Now was the part where she attempted to ask to anyone who could hear why she was tied up, but quickly noticed that she had duct tape over her mouth as well.

In absolute panic mode, she attempted to scream out for help and escape her bonds, but of course was unable to do much.

_"Squirming won't get you anywhere." _An unnaturally deep voice, as if from a voice scrambler, spoke to her from somewhere in the apartment.

Her eyes widened in fear. She could tell from the voice scrambler that it was the same person who kidnapped her in the first place at the club. She turned her head to the source of the voice.

As she did, Daniel walked up to her with his own chair, setting it down in front of her and sitting down. _"It's time we have a chat, Ms. Harper. I'm… sorry for having to imprison you like this, but… I'm under orders. If I had a choice, I would've made things easier on you."_

Mia just stared at him, unable to do anything else.

Daniel sighed. _"I did at least get you dressed. Wanted to show you some respect. At least." _He looked down. _"…Let me make one thing perfectly clear. You're going to die tonight. Begging about it won't get you anywhere either, so I suggest you start mentally preparing for whatever's on the other side. Do you understand?"_

Mia just broke down crying, and struggled even harder against her bonds, entering complete fight or flight mode.

Daniel started to get irritated. _"I asked if you understand, shake your head yes or no."_

She desperately shook her head no.

He sighed. _"Ok… so you want the hard way…" _He stood up and suddenly punched her right in the face, paused for a moment, grabbed her hair to hold her still and hit her again in the same spot, paused for another moment, and then punched her one last time in the stomach. Mia groaned out in pain, and he sat back down. _"Let's try this one more time… Begging won't get you anywhere, and if you want things to go smoother here and for your death to be less painful, then I suggest you answer with a yes."_

Not seeing any other options, she reluctantly nodded her head yes. He leaned forward and took off the duct tape, and she immediately began begging despite what he had told her. "Please, sir, you don't have to kill me… I didn't do anything… I promise…"

_"You did do something. You told Agent 3 where to find us."_

"I didn't… I swear, I only told her… about the nanotechnology… I pointed her in the right direction…"

_"And you did so under your own free will?"_

She didn't respond.

He sighed and pulled out a small remote from his belt, which he used to press a small button. Suddenly, a sharp pain erupted in Mia's abdomen. _"I told you to cooperate if you want things to be less painful."_

She groaned, puking up a bit of ink. "…W-What did you do to me…?"

_"...I put a bomb inside you. One of you own nanotechnology." _He lifted up her shirt for her, revealing a small cut just above her belly button. _"I press this button, it causes you pain. I press the other button… the nanotechnology bursts out from inside you in the form of large spikes. It's… quite a gruesome sight… one that I'd prefer you not go through…"_

Feeling shocked and incredibly nauseous from just the thought, Mia leaned her head back and started crying a bit.

Daniel then continued his interrogating. _"What else did you tell Agent 3?"_

Mia decided to just go along with it, not wanting to be burst open like he described. "…All I told her… was about how I knew Hugh Ward… and how he got a hold of my nanotechnology designs…"

Daniel assumed she was being truthful, having been brave enough to mention Hugh Ward like that. _"…Anything else?"_

She shook her head. He pressed the button again, and the pain in her stomach got worse. "That was all, I swear! I swear!" The pain only got worse, and she began screaming, puking up more ink onto her lap. "I swear… I swear…"

Daniel took his finger off the button, and she gasped as if for air as the pain relaxed, puking up some more ink over her lap.

"...Fuck…" She choked and started crying again. "Please just let me go… I won't mess with your gang again…"

_"...Where can I find Agent 3?"_

"...Her name is Jessica Murdock…"

_"I know that."_

"...She has a friend named Vanessa Reyes…"

Daniel sighed, knowing full well that he had threatened Vanessa to keep her out of this as well, but no one ever wants to listen to him anyway, do they? _"Go on."_

"They're trying to find some weapon of mass destruction in the city so that they can stop that… and Jessica is looking for someone named Daniel Murdock… Something about an Executioner, I don't know…"

A pause ensued as Daniel stared at her, actually a bit surprised. Jessica… was looking for him specifically?

Mia began sobbing, realizing how she just sold Jessica out like that. "Oh my god… I-If you find her… Please don't kill her… She's such a good person, and… She just wants to do the right thing, I know she does…"

Silence. Daniel looked down, a million thoughts going through his head right now, as well as the voices. Some voices were screaming at him to ignore it, but other voices were telling him to take off the mask.

_"...She… wants to find me…? Why…?" _He finally asked after a solid couple minutes.

"...I was thinking it was a family thing because of the last name… I don't know… Just please don't kill her… Please…" She continued sobbing.

_"...I… won't… well… I don't know…"_

Mia stared him, a bit surprised and confused at the same time. Then, even more to her surprise, Daniel completely dropped his bad guy interrogator attitude, and took off his mask, revealing his face. She could definitely see that there was a bit of a similar look to Jessica, as if they were siblings of the opposite gender or course.

"...Are you… Daniel Murdock…?" She asked.

He sighed and nodded.

"...W-… Why…? You're related to her, and you… turned to terrorism…?"

"...I don't know… and it's… been hard…"

"You shot up my strip club, you… blew up that bank…"

"I know."

"Why…? Why would you do that…?"

"...It's a long story, but honestly… Jessica herself is to blame…"

"J-Jessica is to blame?" She couldn't believe it. "Jessica? To blame? She doesn't fucking terrorize people and shoot up banks and offices for the sake of killing people! She… she goes out of her fucking way to help people! Unlike you! She stopped Octavio! She helped free me! And what, you're just trying to pin the blame on your fucking sister? Is it because she's the hero hotshot and you're not?"

"It's not that simple…" He growled, standing up in frustration.

"Then explain it to me! Explain to me why Jessica is to blame and you're not!"

He paced for a moment, trying to clear out the voices in his head, which of course didn't work. It never worked, really. Then, just like he did with Hugh Ward previously, he sat down to tell her his backstory and his motivation.

* * *

**Inky Cheeks**

Detective Johnson stepped into the club, now able to see all the corpses that Daniel and his gang left behind. He sighed and looked around; there were still many officers in the building, investigating for all the details they could possible muster in the crime scene. "…If I see one more collection of bodies like this…" He growled a little to himself. It was days like today where he just really hated his job.

One officer, the one who called him there, waved out to him. "Detective!"

Johnson walked up to him. "You think whatever you have to report to me is stranger than whatever the hell happened at that lab?"

"I don't know, sir… but it is pretty strange… and I think it's something you and everyone in the police force needs to know. I just wouldn't let the public in on it yet in case it turns out to be nothing…"

"So what is it? Is it related to the Harper girl? Did you find her?"

"We didn't find her. We've tried investigating into where the kidnapper might've taken her and so far we have nothing. But this is related." The officer showed him his tablet, pulling up security footage from the attack in which the Executioner kidnapped Mia. "This is footage from the attack, where Mia disappeared tonight."

"...And why are you showing me this?"

"Because we looked into her previous visits as a part of our investigation, and we found out that the other day, Mia Harper was also forcefully pulled out of the club by two female suspects in a similar fashion."

"Two female suspects? Who?"

He showed him the footage. "…The black-haired girl doesn't match up with the hairstyle, but the face and the body type is definitely dangerously close to-"

"Agent 3." Johnson cut him off as he eyed the footage. "Jessica Murdock. I'd know that face anywhere… I memorized it just to make catching her easier…"

"...Do you think it could actually be her, sir? Because if she's still alive, and if this is connected to our terrorists like we think it is…"

"Then either Agent 3 is hunting them down still, or the New Squidbeak Splatoon has been tied to the Underdogs all along." He began walking away, now desperate and putting on what almost looked like a battle-ready face. "Keep investigating the crime scene."

"Yes, sir." The officer went back to his work.

Johnson stepped out of the club and turned to his radio. "All officers, we just received evidence that Jessica Murdock may still be alive and may be connected with the Underdogs case. I want the Agent 3 case reopened and I want choppers in the air looking for her. Subject now has black ink and short hair. Also, I want Craig Cuttlefish prepped for another interrogation round." He spoke into it.

At that moment, he then heard a helicopter that was doing a search go right over the strip club, and he looked up at it, although it wasn't quite a police-allied helicopter. Instead, unbeknownst to him or anyone there, it belonged to the Underdogs.

* * *

On board the helicopter, Ayesha was whispering a little tune to herself as she watched the streets below intently, looking for anyone who even remotely looked like Jessica. "The knives on the chopper go round and round… round and round… round and round… The knives on the chopper go round and round… all through the town…"

The Octoling who was piloting the helicopter just ignored her.

"Find anything yet, babe?" She asked.

"No…"

"Hm…" She went onto the com system. "Anyone find Jessie girl yet?"

She just got a chorus of 'no's.

"Fuck…" She groaned. "Why can't this just be easyyyy?" She whined in a strangely childish way.

"You're the one who's always telling everyone about how life is just pain and that things are never easy." The pilot remarked, only realizing two seconds after he said that that he really should've just kept his mouth shut.

Ayesha suddenly pulled out a knife and held it to his throat, and although he jumped and flinched, he quickly regained his senses and continued to safely pilot the helicopter.

"Honey, don't forget that I can open you up like a bag right here and right now, and totally bring this bird crashing down… I can put our damn mission aside just for the sake of the satisfaction of doing that if you want, babe…" She said, holding the knife in such a way that it was nearly cutting his skin. "Is that what you want, sweetheart…?"

"...No, ma'am…" He gulped.

She scoffed and put the knife away. "Fine…" She then went back onto the com system. "Hey, Danny boy… how about you? How's your mission going?"

She got no response.

"...Danny?"

* * *

_"Danny boy, you better answer me…" _Ayesha's growl whirred through the Executioner mask, but unbeknownst to her, Daniel had actually tossed it aside and was unable to hear it. Instead, Daniel was sitting on Mia's couch casually, chatting with the still tied-up Octoling.

"Well… there was one time where Jessica actually broke my action figure. Broke it right in half." Daniel continued his lengthy story time.

Despite her current situation, Mia had actually gotten quite into his stories. It wasn't every day a dude that had tried to kill her would show off his nice side, right? "So what'd you do…?"

"I taped it back together and called it David Inkerfield."

"Like the magician?"

"Yeah…" He actually chuckled a bit. "Jessica didn't even touch it after that point, she thought the name was funny… We grew up watching David Inkerfield together."

"Ah… I wish I got along that well with my siblings, to be honest… Mine just hated me… and I, in turn, hated them…"

"Well, our relationship wasn't smooth… I wanted way more out of it…" Daniel frowned. "…I just wanted to be friends with her… but most of the time, she just spit it back out in my face…"

"Daniel, she was just a kid… and she's definitely matured a lot since then."

"...I know…"

"And what you did to your family, that's… frankly I don't know what to think about that…"

"...Me neither these days… I keep thinking about… how if I had just held on for a little bit longer, things might be better these days… but… the voices got to me first…"

"Voices?"

Daniel realized now that he had been keeping that out of his storytelling but forget. "Um… yeah… I'm schizophrenic…"

"Oh, shit… that… explains a couple things, actually…"

"Yeah…" He nodded. "…I get the voices basically all day, every day… they never shut up…"

"I'm sorry to hear that…"

"...Thanks…"

They paused for a bit before Mia spoke again. "...Is that why you do it? Kill people?"

"I mean… yeah…" He looked down. "I've spent a lot of years wanting to kill Jessica for ruining my life, but… I think there was always a spark of violence in me… I think Jessica has it too, with how she became Agent 3 and used to beat up criminals every night…"

"Huh… Probably, yeah… You too aren't even that different, really… when you think about it…"

"...I guess not…"

"...Hell, maybe there's… even some kind of alternate universe out there, where you're the one who wears the cape and Jessica is the one who became a crazed schizophrenic terrorist…"

"...I mean… maybe… but this is the universe we're stuck with, huh?"

"Maybe it doesn't have to be…" She said.

Daniel looked up at her curiously.

"Look, I'm not saying that I forgive you for killing all those people, I'm not even saying you're a good person, honestly, but… you can stop what you're doing… you don't have to live under those Underdog people anymore… you can maybe even start making up for all the shit you've been doing… be someone better… for once… You only have this one life to make up for it anyway, and I can see it in your eyes that you don't want to do this anymore…"

Daniel looked back down.

"So please…" Mia finished. "Please stop this…"

"...I…" Daniel replied, a million thoughts racing through his head. He closed his eyes in preparation for the oncoming loud chorus of voices he was getting used to… but strangely…

Silence.

He couldn't hear anything. The voices were no longer bothering him. He gulped and opened his eyes again in surprise, looking around as if for a physical presence.

"...What are you looking at…?" Mia asked.

"...N-Nothing…" Daniel replied.

Mia sighed and kept staring at him, waiting for him to make his choice.

Daniel, meanwhile, was staring in a completely different direction; he was now hallucinating a young Jessica again, who was standing a little ways from the couch. He gulped. "…Jessica?"

"...What are you waiting for, Daniel?" Jessica asked. "Remember what we used to talk about? To dream about? About being heroes?"

"...I remember…"

"I already did the hero thing… now it's your turn…" Just like that, 'Jessica' disappeared. Daniel gulped and looked down.

Mia opened her mouth to say something, but ended up staying silent, aware he was probably just hallucinating something. Then, finally, after a few moments of painful silence, Daniel stood up and pulled out a knife. She gulped. "No, no, please… Daniel…"

Daniel walked up to her. "Hold still… it won't hurt…"

"Daniel, please, please, you don't have to do this, please, please..."

To Mia's surprise, Daniel wasn't coming to kill her at all; he instead used the knife to cut her bonds, freeing her from the chair. She looked up at him in surprise, and was even more surprised when Daniel pulled her up into a hug. She didn't exactly return it, but sank into his chest.

"...I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Daniel finally spoke.

"...Are you really letting me go…?"

"...I… yes…"

She began crying from the relief. "…Thank you…"

He broke the hug. "…Get out of here…"

She nodded and turned to the door, but stopped to look at him. Daniel had also stopped, listening closely to the distance; police sirens. He was afraid of it, that the police would decide to investigate the apartment to find Mia. As he listened to the sirens, all of a sudden… his own mind came back to attack him full-force.

"...Daniel?" Mia asked awkwardly.

"Daniel." 'Jessica''s voice suddenly pierced Daniel's mind as adult Jessica, in her full hero outfit, appeared before him. "What are you doing?"

_"What are you doing?" _The chorus of whispers he could always hear continued as if they never stopped.

_"The fuck are you doing?"_

_"Stop this."_

_"What, are you trying to be nice now?"_

_"We don't do nice around here."_

_"We are the villain, Daniel."_

_"We are the terrorist, Daniel."_

_"We're an Underdog, Daniel."_

_"What do you think Ward would say when he finds out?"_

_"You wanna be gutted like a fish by Ayesha?"_

_"Suck it up, you big baby."_

_"You can't let her go, Daniel."_

_"Kill her, Daniel."_

_"Kill everyone, Daniel!"_

_"KILL JESSICA, DANIEL!"_

"Shut up… shut up…" Daniel said to the voices, to Mia's confusion and concern.

"...Daniel, what are you doing?" Mia asked. Wait, did she really ask that, or did he hallucinate it? Daniel didn't know.

It didn't matter. The cops were coming. He was in danger of being caught. He had to do something. He couldn't let Mia leave now. He had a mission.

"...I can't let you go…" He finally spoke.

Mia's eyes widened when she realized that he was going through a psycho episode, and attempted to flee from her apartment and escape before he caught her again, but was stopped as Daniel pulled out his remote and triggered the pain in her abdomen. It was quite sharp, too; Mia screamed out in pain and fell to her knees, quickly puking up ink.

Daniel rushed to grab his Executioner mask and put it back on. _"…I'm so sorry…" _He then pressed the other button on the remote.

"D-Dan-" Mia attempted to say, but was interrupted as the spikes burst out from her stomach and continued growing. A single tear escaped her eye, before it was quickly replaced as her eyes began bleeding furiously along with any other hole in her body.

Daniel rushed to the window and smashed it open, before heading out on the fire escape, leaving Mia for dead. He looked down at the city streets; the police were definitely coming to find Mia. As he silently planned out his escape, he sighed and spoke into his com system.

_"...Mia Harper has been executed…"_

* * *

**Vanessa's Apartment**

Vanessa, meanwhile, was nervously sitting around in her living room, waiting for Jessica to get back. She was absolutely exhausted, but Jessica wasn't supposed to be gone for this long, and it was driving her nuts. What was worse, she was even pretty sure she could subtly hear helicopter sounds in the distance, which she automatically assumed was for Jessica. She had also been watching the news for any potential updates, but they weren't saying anything of use for her, instead just talking about the massacre at Inky Cheeks; something that only stressed her out more.

Several minutes passed like this before she heard something in the back of the house. "…Hello?"

No answer.

"Son of a…" Paranoid that the Underdogs had gotten to Jessica and were coming for her next, she pulled out a Splattershot she had hidden under her couch, and slowly walked toward the sound. "…Whoever's there… I'll splat you, I'm not kidding… so get out…"

She then heard a crashing sound, and jumped nervously as she then backed up instead.

"...I'm warning you… I'll fucking hurt you… especially if you hurt Jessica… I'll fucking-"

She was interrupted as Jessica came into view, who had apparently snuck in from the back window.

"Jess!?" She dropped the splattershot.

Jessica couldn't say anything in response, instead suddenly collapsing to the floor as she fell into a seizure.

"Jess!" Vanessa immediately went to help her.


	16. Most Wanted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Mia goes missing, Jessica decides to investigate.

"Ooh, careful, careful…" Jessica winced as she felt a sharp pain in a pretty fresh bruise she had on her chest. "Hey, careful around the breasts, too…"

"Well, either I can clean over your bruises or you can continue to be dirty over like half your body, it's your choice."

"I didn't say stop, I said careful…" Jessica was currently naked in the bathtub, sitting in a pool of filtered, non-harmful cleaning water, with Vanessa sitting to the side to help her clean up, using a bar of soap to do the job. Jessica could've done it by herself, yes, and there was barely anything stopping her, but she was in a lot of pain currently and was still exhausted, and Vanessa volunteered to help out. Jessica had just opted to not fight it; Vanessa had seen her fully naked twice before anyway.

"Aren't crazy vigilantes that fight criminals at night supposed to be good at pain tolerance?" Vanessa asked, now going softer with her bruised areas.

"I used to be…" Jessica scoffed. "…Guess I got softer… more fragile…"

"Yeah, admittedly, you have… but you know what? You're still pretty damn tough. Taking on a group of Octolings like that… wow… I wish I had been there…"

"I only won because I jammed a metal spear in them, it wasn't exactly a fair fight. If I had continued on without a weapon, I'd… honestly be dead…"

"I'm glad you're not. Plus… who says you need to be strong all the time? You won out using your wits, and that's more useful overall. So, good job."

"More like I got lucky…" Jessica then took the soap back and started washing down her legs.

"Jess... you being self-detrimental right now isn't helping anyone… The Underdogs are out there. They're killing people… like Susan… so we do whatever we can in these fights, alright? And I know you did your best given the odds…"

"...I guess…" She sighed, before turning to her. "You know… you haven't been bad company… kinda makes me glad I roomed with you instead of staying with Dana or whatever…"

She playfully rose an eyebrow at her. "Not bad? As in I'm not _great_?"

"You're…" She paused to find the right word she was just about to use. "…Good." She couldn't help but smile a little.

Vanessa giggled a little. "Damn. Well… I guess I could consider that a promotion." She then stared at her for a moment. "You know… I haven't seen you smile in a long time…"

Jessica looked down. "…Yeah… I guess you wouldn't have… I don't even think I've smiled since… Cuttlefish…"

"I like your smile. Reminds me of when we were younger."

"...I miss being younger. Everything was so much simpler back then." She put the bar of soap aside. "No Agent 3, no responsibilities… a family…"

"Family is something we both lack, you know. And you know what I just realized? You're not acting like such an emotionless robot anymore… you're actually expressing stuff now. Other than frustration and anger, at least."

Jessica looked back up at her, the slightest ever smile present. So slight it was hard to see, but it was there. "I… guess I've been getting better… but this thing with Daniel…" What little of her smile was there faded away again. "…It still brings up memories of what happened…"

"...I know… and I've been thinking about Susan a lot… but hey." She cupped Jessica's cheek. "At least we have each other, right? I may not be Bridgett or whoever, but-"

"You suffice." Jessica cut her off, nodding. "…And I don't even think I've ever thanked you…"

Vanessa smiled. "And you'll never have to."

"I…" She looked down. "…may know one thing I can do for you…"

"And that is?" She replied, even though she was pretty sure she knew what she was talking about.

Confirming Vanessa's suspicions, Jessica leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on her lips, and reached her hands out of the tub to grab her cheeks. She definitely seemed a bit more… passionate with it this time, which was a pleasant surprise for Vanessa. Vanessa reached around to wrap her arms around her partner to pull her close, and was being equally as passionate with it, just enjoying her presence for the moment.

Jessica was enjoying the moment as well, and eventually, Vanessa reached one hand to softly grope her already exposed breath. She broke the kiss to sigh, and Vanessa immediately used the opportunity to kiss her neck. "Mmm~" She softly moaned as she felt the stimulation, holding the back of Vanessa's neck. Then Vanessa moved down, sucking on her breasts for a moment, as Jessica let out another moan in response and shivered, getting hornier and hornier by the second.

"Let's take it to the room…" She whispered.

Vanessa grinned a little and nodded, taking her hand to lead her out of the tub. Jessica stopped real quick to grab a towel and dry herself off a bit, but quickly followed Vanessa to her bedroom, wanting some action as soon as possible.

As soon as they were there, Vanessa suddenly grabbed her and shoved her down on the bed, before crawling on top of her, pinning her down. She kissed her for a moment before sitting up straight, straddling her stomach, and decided to tease her a bit by slowly unbuttoning her shirt. Jessica was watching intently, and even grinned up at her, very turned on. Vanessa, who was happy to see such emotions coming from her, grinned back, before dropping her shirt off and tossing it aside. Up next was her bra, which she also slowly took off in a pretty slow and teasing manner.

Jessica was getting pretty wet and her breathing was heavy; Vanessa was aware she didn't want to be kept waiting for much longer. She reached behind her and teasingly rubbed Jessica's womanhood a bit, which caused Jessica to immediately moan and lean her head back.

"Mm, you like that~?" She asked seductively.

Jessica nodded desperately. "…Please… I want more…"

"So do I…" She crawled off of her and slid down her lower garments, leaving them both completely bare and ready. Then, she crawled over to her, kissed her another time, and then positioned herself so that her crotch was just barely hovering over Jessica's face.

Jessica immediately stuck her tongue out and began licking at her folds, prompting Vanessa to moan lovingly. But Vanessa wasn't about to just sit and enjoy the feeling; without warning, she leaned down so that she was laying on top of her, and then began passionately licking at Jessica's folds all the same.

Jessica whimpered in surprise and then moaned, but didn't let herself stop, using her tongue and then her lips to pleasure her partner. She still didn't seem too experienced with it, but Vanessa didn't mind; she was still getting satisfied nonetheless. Vanessa, on the other hand, was quite experienced, and was putting much of her focus into making sure Jessica had a _very _intense orgasm.

And an intense orgasm was just what Jessica was about to get. Between how horny she had let herself get before and all of Vanessa's current movements paying that off, the growing tension that she was feeling was intense on its own, and she was twitching a little just from the pure building pleasure of it all. It felt _really _good, and it was driving her to eat Vanessa out as well with more and more vigor.

For Vanessa, the feeling was quite mutual, and both of their moans were starting to fill the room. She brought her fingers into the mix, quickly rubbing Jessica's clitoris. Jessica decided to do the same, wanting their experience to be as mutual as possible, and soon enough, she was getting closer and closer and then finally dangerously close to releasing. With all the intense feelings getting to her, she ended up breaking her mouth off, leaning her head back and moaning.

"H-Holy fuck… I-I'm gonna-" She couldn't even finish her sentence as her orgasm hit her hard, and she violently shook and twitched in response, an accidentally loud moan escaping her mouth at the same time.

Then it was Vanessa's turn to orgasm, nearly just as hard, and with that, the two girls climaxed together, shivering against each other to the sound of their passionate and loving moans.

* * *

What followed after that was a of a long, intense, yet pleasureful night of the girls sweating and moaning together in the bed, and it culminated with them lying under the covers, cuddling up with each other as they peacefully dozed off. It hadn't just been meaningless sex like the previous two times, either; for both of them, even Jessica, it was a mutual and romantic experience, and for once, Jessica was able to sleep without feeling like total trash. It was definitely the best night she had experienced in a long time, maybe even ever.

Finally, the two woke up together the next morning, daylight creeping in through the windows. As soon as they both shifted awake and locked eye contact, Vanessa smiled. "Morning, beautiful…"

"Hm…" Jessica replied. "…Um… thank you… for last night…"

"Heh… you're very welcome…" She brushed Jessica's hair a little. "You definitely seemed more… happy…"

"...Yeah… I guess…"

Vanessa leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Almost makes me forget that there's still a psychopath and his gang of terrorists we need to track down…"

Right. Work. That was still a thing Jessica needed to worry about. After the somewhat brain-melting experience they had last night, she had kind of forgotten about all her problems, but now, she needed to pull her head out of cloud nine. She sat up. "I… think I need to check up on Mia… Ayesha mentioned her when she threatened all my friends over the intercom, and I doubt she was bluffing..."

Vanessa sat up as well. She hadn't yet told her about the Inky Cheeks massacre. "Yeah, I think you should… Maybe we should tell her to leave the city, to be honest…"

"Probably…" She grabbed some fresh clothes from the dresser and slipped them on, before locating where she had left Mia's phone number. She turned to Vanessa. "Can I borrow your phone?"

Vanessa just nodded and tossed it to her, which Jessica casually grabbed out of the air. She immediately dialed Mia's number, casually waiting as it rang, but to her dismay, it instead went to voicemail.

"Shit…" Jessica collected herself as soon as the little _beep _sounded. "Hi, Mia, this is Jessica. Something came up, and… as sudden as it is for me to say, I think it might be smart for you to the leave the city. I wasn't careful enough and I think the Underdogs know about what you told me, so… stay safe. Pack up. Don't answer the door if anyone knocks. Call me back as soon as you get this so that I know you're alright." She hung up and sent the voicemail.

"...Jessica… I didn't tell you this yet, but… I think that the Underdogs already came after her overnight…"

"We don't know that." Jessica said, just trying to stay positive about things. "I think they were busy enough hunting me down."

"I'm not sure that makes a difference… they do seem to have a lot of people…" She looked down. "Jessica… there was another massacre at Inky Cheeks…"

"What!?" She turned to her.

"They again killed everyone inside… if there's any good news, I did some slight research and found that while Mia was at work at the time, she wasn't killed… I think she got away… either that, or she got captured…"

"...Why didn't you tell me this before?"

"...I guess I just… didn't wanna ruin the mood…"

Jessica looked down nervously, and then suddenly went to grab her jacket. "I'm going to find her."

"Woah, what?" She stood up, surprised. "Aren't the Underdogs _still _looking for you? Didn't they have entire choppers after you just to find you?"

"Vanessa, one thing I learned while being Agent 3 is stealth. Doing things carefully, not getting caught, and going completely undetected. I'll be fine." She put her jacket on.

She groaned. "Jess, I hate to remind you, but last time you got cocky, your apartment got blown up and here we are today…"

Jessica immediately turned to her, immediately agitated at her remark. Vanessa gulped, realizing she made a mistake.

"...Look, Vanessa, last night was great… really, it was honestly perfect, and I've decided that I do really enjoy your company. But I'm not asking for your fucking opinions here. Mia is out there and in danger, so I'm going to find her, a couple helicopters getting in the way or not."

"...Then what about the rest of the Splatoon? Didn't you say Ayesha threatened them too?"

"Unlike Mia, they should be safe for now." She looked down. "I don't know, I'll figure out what I'm doing about them later…"

Vanessa walked up to her, still bare naked, and put her hands on her chest. "…Then… be careful… please? I don't want you doing anything stupid and life threatening just because you have that goo inside you…"

Jessica stared at her, nodded, and then stepped away. "I'll be back."

Vanessa watched her nervously as she left, disappearing out the front door.

* * *

With her hoodie on once again, and sunglasses despite the cloudy weather, Jessica silently made her way down to Mia's place, avoiding basically anyone who was even Octoling. She was also being wary of any potential helicopters that were looking for her, but thankfully, there didn't seem to be as many as the night before.

She wasn't even sure Mia would be at home right now; if the Underdogs did attack Inky Cheeks and were looking for her like Vanessa said, then she likely would be either hiding or captured already. She did, however, need to at least disqualify her home, and maybe even look for clues there. But she wasn't about to knock on the front door.

Completely missing the presence of police cars, Jessica snuck up to the apartment building where Mia lived around the back, analyzing the outside to figure out which apartment was hers off of memory. Looking around to make sure she was alone, she super jumped up to the fire escape, climbing up and beginning to look through windows.

She wasn't seeing too much at first. People talking or getting into arguments, a couple lonely people reading books or playing video games, an old fat guy watching television on a recliner, a couple having sex… okay, she didn't need to see that last part, but thank god no one was looking out their windows to see her.

Finally, she came to an apartment with the interior she recognized and was looking for, but to her dismay, the scene inside wasn't pretty at all. Her mouth opened in surprise a little and she felt like her hearts had skipped a beat.

Mia was already beyond dead, many metal spikes protruding from what was left of her pale, torn apart corpse. The spikes were holding her up, too, leaving her corpse in almost a standing position above her pool of ink. Gulping in surprise, Jessica crawled in through the smashed window to get a better look. Upon getting a better look at her face, she guessed that Mia had died overnight, many hours ago. "No… no, no…"

She couldn't help but tear up a bit. Despite having built the nanotechnology, Mia never did anything wrong. She was an innocent Octoling and fan of Agent 3 who was just trying to get by in Inkopolis, even if her chosen career was questionable. But, Jessica didn't let herself stand around and mope for long. Clenching her fist in anger, she immediately began searching the apartment for clues, anything she could use to help her find the Underdogs.

It was obvious that the police had already arrived here, because they had left crime scene tools behind. She didn't know where they were at right now, but she guessed they were on break. In the corner of the apartment, Jessica noticed there were two out-of-place chairs, with a piece of duct tape and some rope on the floor. She knelt down, thinking: it was obvious Mia had been interrogated by the Underdogs. For what, though? Were the Underdogs trying to ask her what she told her? Or did Mia know of something else?

Jessica went back to examine the corpse. Her face was obviously relaxed because she was deceased, but her general posture told Jessica that she had been attempting to flee the apartment when the spikes activated and protruded from her. But if she was actively being held hostage and tied up, how was she even able to flee at all? She ran through a few scenarios in her head. Maybe she was somehow able to free herself and attempted to escape, but was stopped lethally on the way out. Or… maybe they set her free? No… that wasn't adding up…

There was no knife in the her possession or in the area, though. If she didn't set herself free, then who did? She couldn't shake the feeling that Daniel was directly involved with this. Daniel indeed wasn't really around during the lab incident the previous night, it was only Ayesha that spoke to her on the intercom. And if it was Daniel…

Maybe… Daniel set her free? And someone else killed Mia for him? Could it be possible that Daniel was starting to regret his ways and rebel? She looked down, in deep thought. If Daniel was starting to rebel against the Underdogs, then he'd be in serious danger right about now. She needed to find him as fast as she could and get answers, one way or another. And maybe, if she was lucky, there would be a part of Daniel left that could still be redeemed. Or… maybe she was just getting hopeful. She didn't know.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, as she suddenly heard footsteps coming toward the apartment. She was unable to do much of anything as the door suddenly opened, and multiple police officers stepped in casually, holding coffees.

"Quite the crime scene, huh?" One officer sighed.

"Hell yeah… I don't even know why I get surprised in this city anymore…" The other replied. "This has got to be the most gruesome things I've ever seen, though."

"It's the same thing that happened with Trey Jefferson. No doubt that these are connected. The lab, too. It's the same exact spike protrusions in all three cases."

They were both completely unaware that Jessica was currently in the apartment, hiding in her squid form behind the kitchen counter. She had wanted to jump straight for the window, but she hadn't been fast enough. She was hoping that she could make a run for the window when the officers weren't looking, but unfortunately, more officers were also coming in from their break and spreading throughout the apartment, looking for even the smallest details in the crime scene. She couldn't stay there for long.

"God… dammit…" She mumbled under her breath. This job was seriously annoying. She wasn't even sure how she was gonna escape either, there were too many officers.

"Keep investigating this." She could hear one officer command. "I'm gonna head back to the lab and do some comparing and contrasting. Mia Harper is connected to that lab and we're gonna find out how." She definitely recognized that voice… It belonged to who was probably the most annoying officer she had ever met, Detective Johnson.

_'Nice to hear you again, asshole…' _She thought to herself.

"I'll call you when I'm there." She could hear Johnson step out, as the other officers continued their search.

She was remaining hidden behind the counter, but it didn't feel like she was gonna be able to stay hidden for long. The apartment layout was too simple and they were actively searching basically everywhere. Not even underneath the couch was safe. But she couldn't get caught, either, that'd just be a big problem for everyone. And if things didn't go her way, it could throw off the entire mission for her.

It didn't take long for her current hiding spot to become compromised; an officer entered the kitchen to do his own search there. She had to get out of there now. Still in her squid form, she cramped up against the counter as much as she could, slipping away silently. As long as the officer wasn't looking down, she'd be safe, but she knew that wasn't gonna be a permanent safety net. Quickly and yet silently, she slid past the bottom of the counter to make her way out of the kitchen like a snake, and was soon in the living room area, where she had even less room to operate.

She only had two exits: the window, or the front door. The window was definitely her best bet, but either way she sliced it, it was gonna be tricky to get passed. Or… maybe she could get out in an air vent?

One look around confirmed that no, all the air vents she could see were by the ceiling. The window was still her best bet. But she had to make her move. Silently making her way in the general direction of the window as soon as no one was looking in her general direction, she ended up temporarily ducking under the living room table, although there was an officer right next to it.

She ended up hiding under here for several minutes. It probably wasn't her best hiding spot choice, but then again, not like she had a lot of those. At the moment, there just wasn't any good opportunities for her to run for it without being seen. And in fact, this hiding spot was about to become compromised too, as the officer that was standing nearby was getting on his knees to look under. Had she been spotted?

The officer, who was about 2 seconds away from seeing a black squid hidden under the table, was stopped in the process as another officer spoke out to the apartment. "Hey, you guys, I found something!"

Multiple officers dropped whatever they were doing to go over and check up on whatever the new evidence was, including the officer that just about caught her. Jessica accidentally let out an audible sigh of relief, but thank god, no one seemed to hear.

In fact, with all the officers distracted like this, she had an opportunity to flee straight to the window, she just realized. Mostly everyone was now huddled into the corner of the apartment, and there wasn't anyone by the window or on the way there. Now was probably her only chance, her one golden chance. Slithering out from under the table, she began heading right for the window somewhat quickly, but thanks for her cockiness once again, something went very, horribly wrong.

One officer, who she didn't even see, suddenly got up from behind the couch and stepped directly on her, immediately causing her to audibly grunt in surprise. He looked down in confusion. "What…?" Jessica stared up at him, realizing she was just caught, and it only took the officer another second to realize he was staring at a squid. "Hey, there's someone he-"

In a desperate attempt to shut him up, without even thinking really, she suddenly turned back into her humanoid form and tackled him, swiftly knocking him unconscious with a quick blow to the head.

Of course, every other officer immediately turned to the sound, and saw Jessica, in her full humanoid form, standing above the unconscious officer. "Oh, shit…" Jessica muttered.

One officer grabbed his radio to call Johnson. "It's Agent 3! We've got Agent 3 he-" He was cut off as Jessica suddenly took the officer's splattershot and splatted him on the spot, and then ducked behind the kitchen counter again as every officer in the apartment also pulled out their weapons to fire their ink at her.

She took a deep breath as she stayed behind the counter, none of the ink really getting on her. Any officer that attempted to come around to find her also got splatted as she immediately fired at them once they came into view, and thus, it turned into a waiting game of when she was ready to come out.

"Drop the weapon and come out with your hands up!" An officer commanded. "Now!"

She couldn't just stay there forever, she realized, and at that moment, the officers were also coming up with their strategy. To hell with it. The situation was already bad, she might as well just run for it and hope for the best.

After taking another deep breath, she suddenly came back out, splatting a couple officers with great precision. They also opened fire, but were barely able to land any hits on her as she made her way to the window and leaped out, heading down the fire escape.

"She's getting away on the fire escape!" One officer updated Johnson.

She had to get to the ground so that she could safely super jump away, and used her squid form to squeeze her way down, swiftly falling past all the steps and then making it down to the ground below unharmed. She took a moment to breathe, thinking she had been fast enough, but of course, she wasn't. Someone was already down there, waiting for her.

"Get down on the ground!" Detective Johnson yelled at her from behind, holding her at direct gunpoint ."Get your hands behind your head!"

Being held at gunpoint like this, she was now absolutely powerless. "Shit…" She muttered.

"I'm not gonna ask you again! Drop the weapon, and get down on the ground with your hands behind your head! Now!" He yelled.

Reluctantly, she obliged, dropping the police splattershot at her feet and sinking to her knees, putting her hands behind her head. Johnson immediately went up to her and pulled out his cuffs. "I don't know where the hell you've been… but finally… we fucking having you…"

He was about to grab her arms and secure her in the cuffs, but suddenly, Jessica reached back and grabbed him instead, swiftly disarming him before turning around to knock him down. He fell to the ground with a desperate grunt, and Jessica flipped him over, instead placing the cuffs on him.

"Son of a…!" Johnson yelled when he realized what just happened, Jessica still standing over him. He turned back to her, actually smiling a little. "Oh… you're good… I've never, ever had a criminal use that move on me successfully…"

"Forget I was ever here, Detective." Jessica talked down to him. "I'll do the same…"

"Absolutely not." He growled. "I'm not gonna let you walk free after all the shit you've been pulling…"

Jessica sighed and began to walk away, not wanting to linger for too long. "Of course you won't… it's nice seeing you again." She said sarcastically. "Last time I saw you, you were just hellbent on getting a suitcase from us."

"For good reason! Are you people aware that you're vigilantes? Are you aware that vigilantes are against the law and oftentimes dangerous?"

"I'm done making my arguments about that. See you around, Detective." She said as casually as she could, even if deep inside, she was quite nervous after what just happened. Now, with her incredible luck, she had the police to worry about again. Without another word, she sank back down into her squid form and then shot off in the direction of Vanessa's place with a super jump.

"THIS ISN'T OVER!" Johnson yelled as she was leaving. "WE WILL FIND YOU! YOU HEAR ME!? WE WILL CATCH YOU!"

* * *

**Later**

"I… I don't understand… why isn't my apartment safe anymore?" Vanessa asked.

"Because the police know I'm alive again… and if they trace me to you… they're gonna come after you, at this address." Jessica replied, currently packing her clothes into a duffle bag. "I'm sorry, but… now we've gotta hide…"

She sighed and looked down. "…All this happening, and not even Mia could make it…"

"I'm sorry… I know I probably should've been better…"

"...Yeah… you should've." She said passive-aggressively, earning an annoyed look from Jessica. "Where even are we gonna hide?"

"I don't know…"

"We can't just be on the streets, that's too risky."

"I know…"

"What do you know, dammit!?" She suddenly snapped. "You got caught! Again! You jeopardized our mission to go out and find Mia! You told me you were gonna be careful!"

"I was careful."

"Not careful, enough, obviously! Now what are we supposed to do!? Live in the sewers!?"

Jessica suddenly dropped her bag and turned back to her. "Dammit, I said I'll figure it out! I don't need you to get all angry with me now, out of all times!"

"I have every right to be mad with you! I warned you this could happen, and you didn't listen! You got cocky again!"

"You wanna talk about cocky!? You're the one who went out and stupidly got involved with this, which resulted in innocent lives being lost! How about you tell Susan's ghost why she had to die, huh!? Or are you too afraid to admit that her death was ultimately your fault!?"

That shut Vanessa up.

Jessica stared at her, awaiting her answer, and sighed when she got nothing. "Whatever… will you just fucking pack up, please?"

Vanessa was about to oblige, but both of their attention was caught by the TV. To their dismay, it was currently showing breaking news, with a picture of Agent 3 on the screen. "...Oh no…"

The news cut to Detective Johnson, in an official recorded police statement. _"We can indeed confirm at this time that Jessica Murdock, otherwise known as vigilante Agent 3, who was previously thought dead by the police, has been recently been found to be alive and active in Inkopolis. She now sports shorter hair and black ink. We can confirm that no other New Squidbeak Splatoon members are involved with this, but Jessica Murdock is currently operating under her own direction, and we are now officially marking her as dangerous, and possibly tied to the recent terrorist attacks. As of now, she's currently high up on the list of Inkopolis' Most Wanted."_

The news went on to request out of the viewers that they report anything suspicious relating to Agent 3 straight to the police, but Jessica wasn't exactly listening. Instead, she was clenching her fist in anger.

Vanessa noticed. "…Jess…"

She suddenly picked up a random dish that was sitting on the table, and threw it straight at the TV, breaking them both. "Son of a BITCH!"

* * *

It wasn't just Jessica and Vanessa that were getting this news. All around the city, on televisions and phones and other devices everywhere, people were either watching the news or reading into the recent reappearance of Agent 3. Slowly, the whole city was again starting to realize the vigilante was back. Some people were happy to know she was still alive. But overall, a large portion of the city was instead infuriated, and even terrified. Many people were just no longer feeling safe in Inkopolis.

One of the screens that happened to be broadcasting this news was one of Hugh Ward's, on his wall in his office, which he was staring up at. He sighed, not too happy to hear the news himself.

Daniel soon entered his office, his Executioner mask on. _"…The whole city knows now. Jessica Murdock is still alive."_

"I can see that…" Ward sighed, looking down. "…I wanted this to be quiet… but the idiot went and got herself caught…" He then turned to Daniel. "If the police find her before we do, we lose our chance to kill her."

_"I'm aware."_

"So we need to hurry." He sighed. "…I've decided that we're taking the search back to Vanessa Reyes. She was with her at Inky Cheeks."

Daniel was already aware of this, but he stayed silent as if it was news to him.

Ward walked up to him, staring at him threateningly. "Find Vanessa Reyes, and then Murdock. I want them both dead within 48 hours. Or else… I'm going to give Ayesha permission to execute our Executioner."

Daniel fell silent for a moment before responding. _"…Understood…"_

"Then get to work…" He turned back to the screens. Daniel stared at him from behind, before silently leaving for his mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, everyone, just one quick thing I wanna say. This will likely be the last chapter I publish before Christmas Day, but right now, I don't have any intention on doing a Christmas special chapter for NSS:OD, as I have little time left to actually write one. I will say that I did technically write a Christmas special as a standalone one-shot earlier this month, that focused on completely different OC characters even if it was for Splatoon, but I just haven't decided yet if it's something I want to publish or not. If I do publish it, it'll probably go up on Christmas Eve. Anyway, with that said, all of you have yourselves a Merry Christmas! Thanks for reading, and I shall see you again soon.


	17. Ambush

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Jessica finds herself hunted by both the police and the Underdogs, a dangerous confrontation ensues.

_"Tension in Inkopolis is continuing to rise as Jessica Murdock, otherwise known as former vigilante Agent 3…"_

_"...has been revealed to still be alive, after having been thought dead by the public for months…"_

_"...and the police have even gone as far as to link Jessica Murdock directly to the recent terrorist attacks within Inkopolis…"_

_"...including the most recent attack at strip club Inky Cheeks…"_

_"There's no doubt we're starting to see patterns with these connected yet seemingly random attacks in Inkopolis…"_

_"...and now we're realizing that the New Squidbeak Splatoon might be directly involved…"_

_"Many people are starting to question their trust in the IPD and have been asking some concerning questions…"_

_"Is Inkopolis even safe anymore? I don't even feel safe letting my kids walk to school alone, let alone leave the house at all…"_

The same general topic was now coming from many different televisions and different programs, all lined up behind glass windows in TV stores by the sidewalk, and tension among the public was running high. The topic was actively being discussed now by strangers, the police, even political people in Inkopolis; everyone was concerned for the city at this point.

Of course, among the many people who now couldn't get Agent 3's presence out of their head was Daniel himself. Walking along the sidewalk underneath the gray sky, a backpack slung over his shoulder with his Executioner mask and other equipment hidden away, Daniel passed by the wall of TVs and stopped to listen. Even if this wasn't what the Underdogs wanted exactly, it was certainly generating fear. The people of Inkopolis were now afraid for what was to come, and that was certainly what they wanted.

He closed his eyes just to take in all the sounds of the area. Many paranoid people talking away on the TV, police sirens in the distance, other people nearby talking amongst themselves about the very same topic… Chaos was slowly unfurling in the city.

Of course, even over that, were the voices. Whispering at him. Yelling at him. Begging him to do different things. He wished to make them go away… but at the same time, there wasn't much he could do about it. Sighing, he reopened his eyes, looked around just to keep his grip on reality, and continued on his mission.

"The end is near!" A man suddenly chanted nearby, waving around the usual sign that mimicked his words. "This has all been a sign! Our judgement day is coming! Our judgement day is coming!" He continued yelling at passing civilians. Nobody really listened to him, passing him off as a crazy nutjob.

Daniel, however, was more aware of what was to come. If all went to plan, the city would soon fall, and he knew it. Their judgement day. He eyed down the people who were ignoring the chanter, and sighed before briefly joining in. "He's right, you know."

A few people, including the chanter, turned to him.

"Judgement day is coming." Daniel continued casually. He then continued walking, leaving one last line as he did. "So I'd leave the city while I still can if I were you…"

They, of course, continued to ignore him. He sighed. They had no idea what was coming… and frankly, he wasn't sure he was ready for it himself. But, none of that mattered right now. In fact, at around that moment, he started receiving a call on his COM system, through the earpiece he had on. Looking around, he decided to answer it in a more private spot, and snuck into a nearby alleyway.

He pressed the answer button. "…What?"

_"Hiii, Danny boy…" _Ayesha spoke to him. _"Just curious… where the hell are you?"_

He sighed. "I'm going to Vanessa Reyes' place… I'm gonna finish this tonight. And I don't need you breathing down my neck about it…"

_"Aw, Danny, I suppose I should let you know that my crew and I are already there… and so is our target."_

He paused, a bit frustrated now. "…I told you to leave this mission to me."

_"And I told you no. If I get to kill Jessie Murdock before you… I get to drink from your corpse…" _She giggled, to Daniel's dismay. _"Also, not like it matters that I'm here, since you need to hurry anyway. We're gonna be having more guests soon…"_

"...Who?"

_"Don't you listen to police scanners, hun? The police know about Reyes the same way we do, and they had the same idea of how to catch our target. They're on their way as we speak…"_

"Son of a…"

_"Hurry up, sexy…" _She made a smooching sound before she hung up.

Daniel hung up as well, growing increasingly nervous; the voices in his head started to get louder. And speak of the devil, as he looked around, the police sirens he was hearing before were now getting louder, until multiple police cars suddenly sped past him. He watched them pass, noticing that they were indeed headed in the general direction of Vanessa's apartment.

"Dammit…" He sighed, knowing he really had to hurry if he wanted to be the one to kill Jessica. He briefly looked around again just to make sure that no one could see, and reverted to his squid form before suddenly blasting off in a super jump.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

As Ayesha hung up, she grinned a little and turned to the other Octolings she was with. They were all in a van, stationed not far from Vanessa's apartment. "Alright, babes. Our mission is changing up a bit. The police are on their way here… so it looks like we'll need to be taking care of them first."

"...What about the target?" One Octoling asked.

"The Executioner is on his way here as well… and I'm feeling nice, so I'm thinking we'll leave Jessie to him… test him one last time." She grinned.

"And if he fails?"

"Leave that to me to worry about, sweetie. I want you all to focus on the police for now." She turned around again, looking out the van window. Just barely, on top of the apartment's roof, she could see Jessica herself, who was crouched down and staring right back at the van. "…Can Agent 3 come out to play?" She grinned widely to herself.

* * *

Ayesha's wide grin could be seen through the van window by Jessica herself; She was indeed on the roof of the apartments, crouched down and wearing a cap and sunglasses despite the fact that it was dark out. She had earbuds in her ears that she borrowed from Vanessa, and she was actively listening to a police scanner app, specifically on Detective Johnson's channel. Sure enough, as if the police sirens and the circumstances weren't enough evidence, the police knew about her ties to Vanessa and were coming for her. On top of that, now she had Ayesha to deal with.

A part of her wanted to just flee. She didn't think she could take on the police and the Underdogs in one night, that simply sounded too tiring thanks to her brain damage. Then again… her mind couldn't stop going back to one thing: Daniel. If Ayesha was here and ready to take her out… perhaps Daniel was too. Daniel was all she was looking for, right? Maybe she could get to him… Deep down, she knew it was bad idea. But at the same time, she did have one plan forming in her head… and at the end of the day, she didn't exactly have much to lose anyway.

She didn't have time to think it through, however. The police sirens were getting louder, and she had to make up her mind. Taking a deep breath, she reverted to her squid form for a moment just to sneak down to Vanessa's front door, and then transformed back as she reached it. As she entered and slammed the door, she threw off her sunglasses and cap, tossing them aside, before she also took out her earbuds. "We're out of time. The police know about you and they're coming straight here."

"What?" Vanessa, who was still packing, turned to her. "But, I-I need more time, I still have stuff to pack."

"We'll worry about that later." She looked around, desperately thinking through her plan. She knew, however, she was gonna likely have to improvise. She turned back to Vanessa. "Did you memorize the address I gave to you?"

"Yes." She replied, even if she looked incredibly stressed.

"Sneak out the back door with what you have and get there. Now. Don't wait for me."

"...You're not coming with?"

"There's something I have to do first, but I'll catch up."

"Jessica, they'll arrest you if you stay here!"

"I know what I'm risking! But right now, you need to trust me and get your own ass out of here."

"I _don't_ trust you."

She scoffed. "…Well, that's reassuring." She started pushing her toward the back door, which forced Vanessa to scramble to grab the bags she did pack. "Just go!"

When Vanessa was about to open the door and leave, Jessica suddenly stopped her one more time. "Wait!" She turned around to see that Jessica was desperately reaching to find a random paper and pencil that was on the floor, which she ripped a piece off of and used to write a 9-digit number code. She handed it to her.

"...What's this?" She asked, looking at it.

"You'll know once you're there. Go." Jessica gave her another shove, and Vanessa finally walked out, allowing Jessica to close the door. Of course, the police sirens were only getting louder, so she had to act fast.

She desperately looked around, realizing that she wasn't exactly armed with a gun. There wasn't even any spare weapons lying around the house, Vanessa had taken the spare Splattershot with her. She did, however, still have her retractable spear she stole from the lab, right there in her pocket. Just to test it out, she pulled the handle out, rubbed it a little, and pressed the button; Sure enough, the double edged metal spear popped out of it.

She was about to stop and admire it for a moment again, but the police sirens were getting dangerously close now. She retracted the spear and put the handle back in her pocket, before going to hide.

* * *

Sure enough, multiple police cars soon pulled up to Vanessa's apartment, where Vanessa's car was already missing. They came to a screeching stop, and in a rush, several police officers, in specialized combat armor, exited at once. They could see that the lights were on inside through the window.

Detective Johnson was leading the mission, and he already had his Splattershot in hand. "Remember. I want anyone who's in that apartment subdued. I don't care if it's Agent 3, or Vanessa Reyes, or even a pet slug. If they're in there, they go down. If Three herself isn't there, we find clues on where she is. Understand?"

"Yes, sir." Multiple other officers responded.

"Let's move, then. You four, with me. You three, go around the back."

Under his command, the officers split up, three of the officers going around back to sneak in. Ayesha, meanwhile, who was watching from the van still, turned back to her men, pulling out a knife. "Let's show them a party, boys."

It only took a few kicks for Johnson to knock the door to Vanessa's place down, and he quickly entered with the officers behind him, Splattershot ready to shoot. "IPD!"

Silence. No one there to respond. Johnson desperately looked all over, as did the other officers. "Wherever you are, come out with your hands up!" He called out again. Again, nothing.

Another officer sighed as they all dropped their guard. "…All clear. No one home."

"Dammit." Johnson put his weapon on his belt. "All of you. Start searching the house for anything we can use." He eyed some duffle bags that were in the living room. "…Looks like they were packing up."

The officers all started turning the house upside down as if they were turning it into a straight up crime scene, with Johnson overseeing everything, completely unaware that multiple Octolings were currently preparing to enter the house, with their stronger high-pressure weapons.

"Yeah, we've arrived at Vanessa Reyes' place, but no one was here. Seems that they packed up and ran." Johnson spoke into his radio, updating the precinct. "…No. We're looking for clues on where to go next. I don't plan on resting until she's in cuffs. …I'll keep you updated." He responded to the person on the other line, before going back to his search.

The rest of the officers remained unaware still of the approaching attackers, continuing their search like normal. At least, until one officer turned to see Ayesha, standing there casually with a knife in her hand. "Problem, officers?"

The officer was confused at first, but soon came to his senses, mostly because of the knife. "AMBU-" He yelled, before the knife was suddenly thrown with great accuracy right into his throat.

Johnson was the first to notice, before he saw that there was another intruder right outside, aiming in through the window. "Take cover!" He yelled as well, before ducking down into his squid form.

The next thing the police knew, basically all the windows in the house were torn apart, as high-pressure ink shots blasted into the house. Thanks to Johnsons' warning, most of the police were able to duck in time, except for one, who had the back of his head blown off.

"Let's take em' out!" Ayesha commanded, grabbing her knife from the officer she killed, and licking it slightly. In response, the Underdogs climbed in through the windows, aiming their weapons, but to their surprise, the police had already recovered from the attack, and immediately began shooting back, splatting a few of them.

And just like that, Vanessa's place was turned into a warzone, with the police and Underdogs firing back and forth at each other, covering the place in ink, while Ayesha stepped in and continued using her arsenal of knives. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the Underdogs to wipe out most of the remaining officers, except for one, who had taken cover and was hiding.

"We always make the places we visit a fucking mess." Ayesha said, tapping one officer's corpse with her foot. "And we always have more to make~ So, come out, come out~"

The last officer was breathing heavily; there was no way he was gonna make it out of here alive, and he knew it. Best he could do, was go down fighting. Real quick, he pulled out his phone, and started texting a goodbye to his wife.

"Come ouut!" Ayesha demanded again.

With his text sent, he dropped the phone, gritted his teeth, gripped his weapon as hard as he could, and with a growl, stood up. Before he could do literally anything, however, he had his brains blasted out, and his body dropped to the floor. Except, Ayesha noticed, it wasn't from one of the Underdogs that were already there. She turned around to the front entrance where it came from.

Daniel, the one who pulled the trigger, lowered his weapon as he went up to Ayesha. _"…What'd I miss?"_

"Just an inkbath. Glad you could join in, though." She grinned. "What took you so long?"

_"I was on my way. Was Jessica here?"_

"She was, but I think she slipped out. Sexy thing can't be far, though…" She started licking the knife that was in her hand to clean it off. "Let's do a role call and start looking. I'll call Ward to maybe get the helicopters to this area."

_"No. Jessica is mine to kill."_

"We're giving you another chance, but so far, you haven't been living up to your chances, have you?"

_"If you kill her before I can, I'll-"_

Ayesha suddenly brought a knife to his throat, pressing it up to his skin, only barely not breaking it. "In case it wasn't obvious, Executioner, I don't answer to you. _You_ answer to _me_. And we both answer to Ward. So I'd shut that mask of yours before I spill your ink anyway. Savvy?"

He tensed up, staring at her. _"…Understood."_

She gave her usual grin at him as she lowered the knife. "Now, sexy, how about you do role call, and I'll call-" She was interrupted as they suddenly heard a car door right outside open and them slam back shut, before the car quickly started up. "Oh?"

The two went out to see that Jessica was actually still there all along, and had just broken into one of the police cars. She turned to face the Underdogs through the window, giving them a clear view of her face, and in response, Daniel immediately pointed her weapon and fired at her. The ink just cracked the window and bounced off, however, as the glass was too durable for it. And just like that, Jessica slammed her foot down, and the car sped off. Daniel fired a couple more shots, but they were in vain, even if they were cracking the windows.

"It's her!" Ayesha yelled, running forward. "Let's get after her!"

Daniel followed, along with the other Underdogs behind him, as they raced back to Ayesha's van. Using her Octopus form, Ayesha leaped in through the open window, and quickly started it back up. "Oh, this is gonna be fun!"

Daniel got in the passenger seat. _"Less talking and more chasing!"_

"I agree; more talking, and MORE chasing!" She replied, slamming down on the pedal before the other Octolings could even get settled. She quickly turned the van in a u-turn and sped off, causing a couple Octolings to be thrown out the still opened back window. Daniel noticed and stared at Ayesha through his mask.

Ayesha, didn't care, however. She was already speeding after Jessica's police car. "Haha! I fucking love this job!"

Daniel was a bit more concerned however, as both cars in the chase were going extremely fast. On top of that, Jessica was starting to get to more populated areas of the city, looking back often to make sure they were still following; now, they had traffic to deal with.

_"...How good of a driver are you?" _Daniel turned to ask her.

"I'm a reckless one! And that's all we need!" Ayesha replied, the adrenaline clearly getting to her.

Jessica, meanwhile, was taking some deep breaths to keep herself calm. Chances are at this point, she could potentially get injured, or killed, and she was likely a seizure or mere mistake away from crashing. But she had already thrown herself into her plan, so she kept driving as fast as the car could go, while keeping a close eye on her rearview mirror to keep track of Ayesha.

At this point, they were driving past intersections at high speeds, surprising other drivers to the point of colliding with each other. Ayesha rolled down her window as they were starting to get closer to Jessica, sticking her head out to be a better view. "…Give me your gun!" She suddenly barked at Daniel.

Daniel jumped a little and handed it over, and Ayesha swiped it from him, before holding it outside the window and aiming it. "Let's see if your boy toys work…"

Jessica jumped slightly as she heard a blast of ink strike her back window, cracking it. Then another one. And another one. She looked back, seeing that the window was already a few hits away from shattering. Maybe the glass wasn't as strong as she thought.

Of course, as she predicted, a few more shots from Ayesha's gun was all it took to shatter the back window, and now, Ayesha was aiming directly for her head. Unfortunately for Ayesha, however, she was way better at throwing knives than she was at aiming an actual gun, causing her to miss multiple shots.

Jessica swerved the car back and forth whenever she had the space to, which made aiming even harder for Ayesha. Now, she wasn't even successfully hitting the car. She was grunting louder and louder. "Come on, come on, COME ON! Piece of junk!"

Then, something that caught the attention of everyone, police sirens could be heard on the Underdog's tail. Jessica herself looked back, realizing a wrench was just thrown into her plan.

"We've got company!" One Octoling yelled, and Ayesha herself looked back at the intruding third party. It was of course a second police car, and Ayesha squinted to get a look at the driver. It was none other than Detective Johnson at the wheel, with his partner right there in the passenger seat.

She growled. "Johnson! Wasn't he at the house!?"

"He must've slipped out during the shootout!"

She growled again, watching through the rearview mirror as Johnson's partner pulled out her weapon and also ducked out the window, beginning to fire at the van.

"…WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!? SHOOT BACK!" Ayesha yelled

The Underdogs obliged, getting into a second shootout with the police.

Ayesha sighed, keeping her attention on the road. "…I hate when things aren't just easy…"

Daniel looked at Jessica's car, and then at Ayesha. _"…Let me take care of Jessica. Let me end my mission while you deal with the police."_

"_Our_ mission, sweetheart." She handed back the gun. "This is your last chance."

_"I won't lose it." _He took the gun back and then opened his car door. Ayesha watched as he climbed out and onto the car roof.

"...God, he's sexy…" She grinned to herself.

Now up on the roof, Daniel surveyed the situation briefly. The police were still close behind, and weren't getting slowed down by the shootout, but they were also still right behind Jessica. All he needed. Turning into his squid form, he launched into a quick super jump, landing right on the roof of Jessica's car. He nearly fell off, however, and quickly turned back into his humanoid form to hold on the back.

Jessica, of course, immediately felt the car shift, and looked back to see Daniel, in his Executioner mask, dangling onto the car for dear life. "Shit!" She immediately attempted to swerve the car to get him off, but he was able to keep his grip.

Ayesha, who was watching, was letting herself get a bit too distracted, however, and was grinning to herself some more. The Octolings in the back, who had managed to shatter the front window of Johnson's car and were now trying to snipe at their heads, briefly looked at her. "…Are you watching the road!?"

"I don't need to watc-" She was interrupted as a car collided with them from the side right as they crossed an intersection, instantly knocking them out of the chase.

Johnson, meanwhile, was able to slip past the intersection, looking back at the crash but not stopping. He spoke into his radio. "The Underdogs van is down. I'm after the other target now."

Ayesha, however, was mostly unharmed by the crash, mostly thanks to how it was a smaller, slower car that collided with their larger van. She was, however, quite dazed from hitting her head thanks to the sudden stop. She shook her head and opened the door, climbing out and falling to her knees on the sidewalk. She spoke into her earpiece. "…I'm out, Danny boy… I want Jessica's head off in the next 5 minutes or else I'm slitting your throat…"

* * *

_"Understood!" _Daniel replied, still on Jessica's car. Despite Jessica's best efforts to knock him off, he was still tightly keeping his grip, and Johnson was still furiously chasing her down. In fact, Daniel was starting to crawl in through the already shattered back window, making him even harder to knock off.

Jessica looked back at him, but didn't slow down the car. "…You can still stop this, Daniel!" She hissed. "Forget the Underdogs!"

_"The only one I want to forget is you!" _He yelled back, pulling out his gun and pointing it at the back of her head.

She gasped, and thanks to her reflexes, was able to just barely dodge the first shot by shifting her head to the right and swerving the car a bit. That, however, wasn't enough to stop Daniel from pointing it at her a second time. She dodged the second blast as well, but Daniel was starting to catch on.

This was it. She was mere seconds away from having her brains blown out in an enclosed space, she was in the middle of a high-speed, high-risk chase, and there was still a second car right behind her, catching up as a matter of fact. For just a moment, her life started flashing before her eyes; everything from her childhood with Daniel, to her becoming Agent 3 in Octo Valley, to even her meeting Bridgett down in the Deepsea Metro. All of it was suddenly flashing back to her. She was probably about to die. And she had one last, still extremely dangerous idea to pull as a last-ditch effort.

Right before Daniel could pull the trigger a third time, she suddenly slammed on the brakes, and the car came to a screeching halt. Daniel, who wasn't even seated, was immediately chucked headfirst through the front window, moments before Johnson's car, which couldn't stop in time, ran straight into the trunk. Jessica's car spun in a circle from the impact, while Johnson's car straight up became airborn, flying overhead before landing on its back, sliding along the street to a stop.

The area they crashed in happened to be more of a deserted neighborhood area, thanks to how late it was. Daniel, who was left unconscious on the street, snapped back awake after a moment. Confused as to what exactly happened, he slowly sat up, desperately pulling off his mask for fresh air, struggling to do so. He was feeling pretty weak all over, including his arms, but after a moment, his mask came off, and he groaned in pain. Luckily for him, it did seem that the mask protected his face overall, so he decided that he should be fine and started struggling to his feet. The voices in his head continued in his head as he did, starting to go on full attack mode.

_"You killed her, Daniel."_

_"She's dead now."_

_"Your sister is dead."_

_"Again."_

_"You have no family."_

_"You will never have any family."_

_"Not even the Underdogs are your family…"_

"Shut up…" He suddenly said aloud, covering his ears, which of course never worked. "Shut the fuck up…"

The voices only got louder, and meaner.

"Shut up…" He grunted and decided to change his focus. "…Jessica! Where are you…!?" He started stumbling over to Jessica's car, which was pretty beaten from the crash, especially on the back, even if it hadn't flipped over. He went up to the driver's seat, opening the door and pulling out his gun.

Jessica did seem pretty dead; she was bleeding from her nose as well as in other places, including a cut on her head, and was completely limp in her seat. But then again… she had died before, and come back anyway, hadn't she?

"...Jessica?" He asked stupidly, ignoring the voices. "…Are you really dead?"

_"She's dead."_

_"You killed her."_

_"Now you should kill yourself."_

_"Kill yourself, Daniel."_

_"Do it now."_

He tried to shake away the voices in vain, desperately shaking his head, before he decided to reach his hand forward, slowly checking to see if she had a pulse.

To his alarm, she did have a pulse, and suddenly, she shot up, punching him right in the face. He flew back and landed on his back, the pain from his nose quickly proving to him it wasn't just an hallucination. "Augh!" He groaned. Jessica unplugged her seatbelt and climbed out of the car, although she also seemed a bit weak and was struggling to walk straight. He attempted to stand up. "…Jessica?"

Jessica suddenly pulled out her spear and popped it out, holding the tip to his throat before he could move. She wiped some ink from her mouth. "…It's over, Daniel…"

Daniel stared down the spear, wondering if it was also an hallucination. "…Are you real?"

"Unfortunately…"

"...How do you keep surviving…?"

"Call it bad luck." She suddenly moved the spear and gave him another solid whack across the head, and he collapsed, unconscious. Retracting the spear, she stood over him, triumphantly for the first time in months. For the first time, she felt like her luck was turning around. She didn't know if it was gonna last, but at the moment, she didn't care. Putting the spear handle back in her pocket, she was about to pick Daniel up, but suddenly, she was reminded of someone else that was involved in the crash as she heard a voice call out.

"Help! Somebody, help!" Detective Johnson called out. "Please!"

She looked in the general direction, seeing where Johnson's car had landed. It was spilling gasoline, and some parts of it were already lit on fire. "…Oh no."

"Help! Please!" Johnson called out again.

She gave Daniel another kick in the head just to make sure he stayed down, and then limped over to the wreck, where Johnson and his partner were upside down, absolutely trapped in the wreckage. His partner didn't even seem conscious. She examined the situation.

"Please, help us…" He said again.

"Don't move!" She yelled, starting to pull on the door. To her dismay, it was stuck, forcing her to start using her strength.

Johnson saw that it was stuck too, and suddenly closed his eyes, starting to pray.

"You're not gonna die!" Jessica responded, gritting her teeth and groaning as she strained herself to get it open. Eventually, thankfully, she was able to snap it open, and Johnson stopped as he looked up at her. She reached her hand in. "Grab my hand!"

He took it without hesitating, and again while straining herself, Jessica used her remaining strength to pull him out. She carried him away from the wreckage, where he laid down on the ground, even weaker than she was. She stared down at him, but with a shaky finger, Johnson pointed back to the car. "…Help her…"

Jessica looked back, remembering his partner was still in here. "No…" She limped back over and again reached in, attempting to grab the other officer. This one was even harder, as she was completely unresponsive, and abruptly, part of the car exploded, knocking her back. She fell back onto the pavement, groaning in pain, before the rest of the car followed, erupting into a larger explosion that basically destroyed the whole thing.

"No…" Johnson muttered, watching the whole thing. He desperately reached his hand out, but was too weak to do much of anything.

After experiencing another seizure, Jessica coughed and rolled over onto her side as she attempted to get back up, looking back at the wreckage. There was no way she made it out of that thing.

"No…!" Johnson erupted, tears flowing down his cheeks. "No…!"

Jessica was powerless to do anything, and the heat from the fire was starting to get to her. Sweat starting to drip down her forehead, she successfully struggled back to her feet, coughing some more and gasping for air.

Johnson couldn't do anything but watch as Jessica limped past him, slower this time. She looked down at him without stopping. "…I'm sorry…"

He wanted to say something in response, he really did. But nothing came out. He was speechless. His partner just died for him to see, he lost plenty of other officers today as well, and now his one enemy was the one person who was helping him?

Jessica went over and picked up the Executioner mask, staring at it, before going to pick up the still unconscious Daniel, holding him over her shoulder. She gave another look back at Johnson, allowing them to briefly lock eye contact. It didn't last long, though, as Jessica turned back around, and started limping away with Daniel.

Johnson laid his head down and looked on, questioning everything as more tears streamed to the ground below him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I'll just apologize now for not updating this story in over 2 months. I'm sorry. I sure hope that doesn't happen again, lol, I still definitely have my sights set on finishing this thing, recent lack of motivation and everything aside. So stay tuned, and hopefully I shall see you again soon. *waves*


	18. Heart to Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a new hideout, Jessica and Daniel finally get an opportunity to talk.

Ayesha stormed down the somewhat dark hallways of the Underdogs base, where most of the Octolings were asleep. She seemed pretty pissed and determined in direct contrast to her usually more cheerful yet psychotic self, getting worried looks from the people that were awake. Two of those people happened to be the guards in front of Hugh Ward's office.

She stopped in front of them. "I need to see him."

They looked at each other. "…Do you know what time it is?"

She suddenly pulled out a knife, holding it to his throat. "I need to see him."

He gulped and stared at her nervously, before going to get Ward's permission and then letting her in. She pushed past them, entering Ward's office. Once she was inside, she suddenly threw her knife at one of the screens on the wall with an angry growl, for seemingly no reason.

"Those screens are expensive." Ward sighed, sitting at his desk. "…I take it the mission went poorly?"

"I just wanted to break something…"

He turned to her. "Break down what happened."

"We lost the target."

"I figured you would."

"It gets worse than that… we lost the Executioner… again. Completely MIA…" She growled, licking her lips a little. "And even worse than that… my van is totaled."

"...Any evidence of where the Executioner went? Or if he's alive?"

"No."

He sighed. "Figured… Well, that settles it. That's the last time we're allying with Inklings…"

"Oh, agreed…" She replied, still licking her lips.

"We'll need a new Executioner. And… if Daniel isn't already dead… we'll kill him." He said, before turning back to the screens.

"Permission to slit his throat and suck him dry when I find him?"

"...Granted."

She smiled, immediately cheered up.

"I don't know what we'd do without you, Ayesha. You're probably the single most loyal person here, aside from me…"

"I know~" She replied before heading back up. Ward just stared up at his screens, somberly.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Outside the City**

After a long, painful walk, followed by a ride in a stolen car she had already abandoned, and another long walk, Jessica finally arrived at her destination, with Daniel still on her shoulder, still unconscious. The destination didn't seem to have much to it at first glance; it was a simple and small little building made out of a mixture of cement and metal, sitting alone on top of an abandoned hill.

Jessica limped up to it, looking around a last time just to make absolute sure she was alone, before she went over to a small keypad that was by the door. She entered in the 9-digit code that she had memorized, and as soon as she hit enter, the metal door slid open, revealing an elevator. From there, it was a simple elevator ride that took her deep underground, until it came to a stop, letting her and Daniel into an underground bunker.

It wasn't a huge bunker, and was a depressing tint of gray as the walls and other things were made out of metal. It had a small living room/dining room that had lines of canned food inside, as well as a hall that led to multiple bedrooms. Vanessa, who was already there, sitting at the dining table nervously, immediately went up to her. "Jess!"

Jessica just laid Daniel down on the table, before sitting down and panting. "…He's heavy…"

Vanessa stared him down, wide-eyed. "O-Oh my god… you got him."

"I got him…" She nodded.

"I was looking at the news…" She said, pointing to her phone. "Surprisingly, there's reception dow-"

She was interrupted as Jessica suddenly took the phone from her and threw it against the wall, immediately breaking it. "...People can track phones…" She explained only after.

Vanessa stared at her in surprise and frustration, before blinking and sitting down. "…You don't like to give warnings, do you?"

Jessica ignored her, clearly wondering what they were gonna do next with Daniel. "We need to make sure he's tied up before he wakes back up… there should be something here."

"R-Right…" She got up and started looking for something to tie Daniel up with, as Jessica stood back up and got Daniel situated in a chair. Vanessa came back a moment later with some rope and duct tape, which they used to keep him secure.

Jessica sat back down, sighing, playing with the Executioner mask a bit in her hands. "…That should be fine…"

Vanessa sat down as well. "…What exactly is this place, anyway? This looks like a place that was meant for the apocalypse."

"It is. It's called Cuttlefish Bunker…" She explained. "It was constructed some time after the Great Turf War… Cuttlefish kept it a secret at first, but he told the rest of the Splatoon about it after the NILS statue incident… told us to be prepared for any sudden world-ending events like that…" She sighed. "But for us… it'll instead be a good place to lay low."

"...For how long?"

"Until either the Underdogs are done or until the police stop chasing us…"

She put her head in one hand, hiding her eyes in frustration.

"You wanted the vigilante life… this is the vigilante life. Welcome."

Vanessa suddenly slammed down her fist on the table. "Dammit, when I wanted the vigilante life, I just wanted to help people! I didn't expect to get hunted like Inkopolis' Most Wanted and then have my house get turned into a fucking battleground!"

Jessica just sighed and looked down.

She took a breath to calm down, but then continued anyway. "Who have you helped, anyway? Huh? Ever since we helped you in that orphanage, you haven't been fucking helping anyone. You couldn't even protect Susan."

"Like I said, Susan's death was _your_ fault. Stop pinning it on me."

"Because I was just trying to help! And you know what? Have you ever stopped to consider that this whole situation is _your _fault?"

"The hell are you implying?"

"You've told me before about how your childhood with Daniel went…" She muttered. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess that you broke him into becoming this way… and honestly, you also treat _me _like shit, by the way."

"He burned the fucking house down and started killing people because he's an insane schizophrenic. I didn't make him do that."

"But you never even stopped for a second to think that maybe he's insane because of you?"

Jessica looked down, not having an answer. At least not one that she wanted to say. She decided to change the subject. "…It's late and there's bedrooms here. I think we could both use sleep." She got up and started walking to the hallway.

To her surprise, however, Vanessa also stood up and pulled out her spare Splattershot, pointing it at her. "You're not walking away from me again, dammit!"

Jessica stopped at the hallway entrance, her back facing Vanessa. She sighed. "…Put the gun down, Vanessa."

"...Or what?"

Raising her arms slightly in a surrendering manner, she slowly turned to face her. Vanessa was staring at her with her hands trembling, her finger on the trigger.

"...Put. The gun. Down." Jessica ordered a last time. "You're letting your anger take over…"

Vanessa stared at her for several seconds, realizing that she was probably right. Still trembling, she lowered the gun. Jessica sighed and took it from her.

"…So, what, your plan was to splat me, and then…?"

Vanessa looked down, also not having an answer.

"You want me dead? Like everyone else does?"

She still didn't answer.

"Hm… for a bit, I thought we maybe had something good going on… guess I should've figured it wouldn't last." Taking the gun with her, she just left, heading to a random bedroom in the back and shutting the door.

Vanessa sat down, still trembling, alarmed by the intense hatred she was feeling.

Jessica herself was up late that night despite her exhaustion, thinking to herself. She felt like… despite Vanessa's obvious issues at the moment, she had a point. She had definitely come out of her coma a changed person, and… it was almost like all the righteous morals she had before had been snuffed out. She hadn't been helping anyone, she had been making the situation worse, and as far as her childhood… that was probably partially her fault as well.

She curled up, facing the wall. Did she even have her head in the right game? Was it right to just go after Daniel and not the Underdogs as a whole? What would Cuttlefish think of her if he was around? She no longer knew.

And she didn't know what she was gonna do next, either.

* * *

**The Next Morning**

Daniel was the first one awake, finally coming to for the first time since Jessica hit him the previous night. He immediately tried to move, only to quickly realize that he was tied up. He immediately began struggling against his bonds in vain, and as his frustration from being trapped built, he started jumping up and down and flailing around a bit, grunting. To him, he was in a completely unrecognizable location, and he had no idea where it even was. The only recognizable thing he could see was the Executioner mask, which Jessica had left on the dining table.

He turned to it. "…Get me out of this."

The mask just sat there, silent.

"...Please!"

Still nothing.

"God! Dammit!" He continued struggling, until he suddenly heard a noise. "Who's there?"

Vanessa, who was just coming out of her room, walked in and started looking for food to eat. She completely ignored him.

"...Vanessa Reyes?"

She just pulled a can down from the shelf, wondering what she wanted to eat.

"...Are you real? Because, I have no idea where I am, and when I'm… in… places like this, I start to lose my grip on reality, and... please just give me a sign that I'm really here… either that, or do something unrealistic so that I can tell you're fake."

Vanessa decided to oblige. She picked up a random spoon from where the utensils were kept, and then chucked it at his head. "That proof enough?"

"...Thank you."

"Hm…" She went back to what she was doing.

"Where am I?" He decided to ask.

She went back to ignoring him.

"Come on, please tell me! At the moment, I'm on your side, because I know for the fact the Underdogs are gonna-"

"_My_ side?" Vanessa replied, turning to him. "You killed Susan… when I was right there… you think I'll ever be on the same side as you after that?"

"I was-" He gulped looked down as the voices started getting to him again. "I was on a mission…"

She sighed. "…I'm sure Jessica will want to talk to you… so you ask her all the fucking questions you want." She took her food and went back to her room.

"No! Wait! Please, come back!" He said before Vanessa closed the door, locking it. Feeling a panic attack, he looked down, starting to hyperventilate.

Several minutes passed, filled with the usual voices and hallucinations; he even thought he could see some kind of demon in the dark hallway, in a form of a shadow with two blank eyes, staring at him. He gulped.

Eventually, however, the hallucinations were interrupted as she heard another door open and shut. He looked down the hallway, to see Jessica step out of the shadows.

"Jessica…"

She sighed, walking up to him. She had already gotten dressed in some clothes Vanessa had packed for her, and she picked up a chair, going over to him and sitting down before him.

"...Are you real?" He asked her.

"Mhmm…"

"...Can you prove it?"

"How am I supposed to prove that?"

"...I… Physical contact helps…"

She sighed and suddenly kicked his leg, causing him to grunt in pain. "We have a lot to talk about."

Daniel looked down, not wanting to look her in the eye. "…Just kill me…"

"I'm not gonna kill you, Daniel. You're my brother." She sighed, leaning back in her chair. "Just like I'm your sister…"

"...If you don't want me dead, then why am I here?"

"We'll get to that. For now, I just finally want a chance to talk to you."

"About what…?"

"...Let's start with why you wanted to kill me."

He fell into silence, starting to tear up.

"Talk to me, Daniel…"

Still nothing.

"...Please…"

At that moment, something snapped inside Daniel. He felt like he finally had an opportunity to just… converse, with his sister, and take back his lost childhood. His best friend in childhood. A tear fell down his cheek.

Jessica was starting to tear up a bit as well, but was fighting them enough to prevent them from falling.

"...You hurt me, Jessica. I just… I wanted to be your friend… and I was sick… I was so… fucked up in the head… and despite that, all I wanted was to be friends with you… I wanted you to help me get better… I reached out to you so many times… and every time, you spat back at me… you pushed me away…" He finally said, crying. "…Do you remember…?"

She sighed and looked down, subtly nodding.

"...Tell me why you did it then…"

Jessica thought about her answer. "…I was a kid, Daniel. A real… bratty one, at that…" She leaned forward a bit.

"And you didn't want to be my friend?" He asked almost like a child.

"Daniel, the way I see it, we _were_ friends… I mean, do _you _remember all the fun we used to have together? When we would… eat ice cream and then race down the sidewalk? Or when we just sat down on benches at night and talked about superheroes?" She sighed. "…You wanted to be the hero… do you remember that?"

Daniel looked down. He did remember.

"Then you… you…" Now it was her turn to burst into tears. "You killed our parents… you tore apart our family… you ruined both of our lives…"

"I was sick…"

"I know that you were… and you're still sick. But you… you could've been so much more… and instead, you opted to go out and kill people for a terrorist organization… _innocent _people…"

"I… I know…"

"...Now how about _you _tell _me, _why you did that…?" She said, wiping her tears.

"...I…" He again thought over his answer. "…I had no guide… no compass… after we got separated, I… felt like I lost everything that mattered…"

"So did I…"

"And… I was running out of ways to vent my anger… did I ever tell you that I joined gangs when I was let from the hospital…?"

She shook her head.

"That was one thing I did… and I just… spent the years… wanting revenge… my mind is so… twisted… that, the voices in my head kept telling me that I needed to get out there and kill you… for driving me to insanity…"

"And then you found the Underdogs…" She sighed.

He looked at her and nodded, tears still streaming down his face.

"...I should've been there for you…" Jessica said, crying more herself. "…I realize that now…"

Daniel just fell into silence, staring at her.

"And I should've been nicer… maybe if I did… we wouldn't even be here right now… We could've just been back home... we could've grown up properly at Lishawn and then lived full lives… maybe… hell, I don't think I would've ever become an Agent if that happened…"

"...It got ruined for both of us…"

She nodded, and started sobbing a little. "…I'm so sorry, Daniel…"

As Daniel stared at her, in silence, he realized that for that moment… it was _actually _silent. There were no voices. No hallucinations. No insane buzzing sound. It was just him and his sister, talking like they were kids again. He looked at her, more hope in his eyes.

She looked back, crying more than she had ever let someone see before.

"...Can I…" Daniel started. "…Can you let me go now…?"

Jessica stared at him; for just a moment, she was considering it. She even subconsiously started sightly moving her hand forward, toward the ropes. But… ultimately, she instead stopped herself, and lowered her hand, as well as her gaze.

"...What's wrong?" He asked her. "Jessica, please let me go."

"...We're not there yet… we're far from it…"

"No… you said…" He couldn't even finish his sentence, as voices and the buzzing noise came back, on full force.

"...If you want to be freed… if you even want to _start _earning my trust back… then you're going to help me first." She wiped her tears as best she could, as she put on her more serious face again. "You're gonna tell me everything you know about the Underdogs… and I'm going to stop them. For good. Because I'm done running from the responsibility."

"Jessica, you…" He then started remembering his own responsibility. The promises he made to Hugh Ward. "…I can't…"

"You're not their Executioner anymore, Daniel." She got up and grabbed the mask from the table, showing him. "The mask isn't yours anymore. It's time to stand against them… I know they have plans to take down the city, Mia told me. Now I just need to know how to stop them."

"...You can't… you're not going to stop them…"

"Why not?"

"...Because I can't… I can't turn on Ward…"

"So you're going to turn on me again?"

He looked down.

"I just need information, Daniel. You give me the information and I'll shut them down for you. You won't even leave this bunker."

He looked down, the voices in his head getting continuously louder. And louder. And louder. He shook his head. "…Shut up…"

She stared at him, confused.

"Shut up…"

"I'm not saying anything…"

"Shut up… shut up! SHUT UP!"

Jessica backed up slightly, and Vanessa, who heard the commotion, came out to look. Daniel was starting to hyperventilate in his seat, and Jessica sighed. She wasn't getting any answers out of him in this state. She probably wasn't going to anytime soon.

"...What now?" Vanessa asked.

Jessica ignored her as she gave up, wiping more fresh tears from her cheek. Then, with the Executioner mask in her hand, she walked to the back of the bunker, to her room.

* * *

A couple hours passed. The whole time, Jessica had been locked in her room, silently thinking and preparing herself. If getting through to Daniel wasn't gonna work, she had one other option. Even if she wasn't exactly thrilled about it. But first, she had to deal with giving herself a bit of another makeover.

It wasn't anything fancy, as she had nothing to work with in the bunker except for the mirror in her room and the things they packed, but simply, she no longer felt comfortable with her black hair approach. Everyone knew that she looked like that now, anyway. Instead, she did the opposite; she reverted her ink and hair color right back to orange. She watched as the transformation happened before her in the mirror, and then, focusing strongly onto her shape-shifting ability, was able to grow out her tentacles again, back to her original hipster hairstyle. Just like that, she looked like her old self again. Her self that, ironically, less people knew her for now.

But, she of course still wasn't done. She had to hide her face next. Again, she slipped out some sunglasses and a cap, putting them on again in front of the mirror. She stared at herself, wondering if people on the street would be able to recognize her like this. She didn't know. But with that, she slipped on fresh clothes, along with a jacket, slipped Vanessa's splattershot into her clothes, and then opened the bedroom door, heading out.

Vanessa, who was at the dining table with a sleeping Daniel, noticed that she looked different again and stood up. "…Where are you going?"

"Back to the city. I need to get information on the Underdogs. I have one potential idea left…" She said, heading toward the elevator.

"So you're going out in your old haircut? Are you insane?"

"Yep. Remember how some weirdos have apparently taken this style for themselves after I went missing? I figured no one would pay attention to me like this."

"...I don't imagine that it'd work that way."

"Whatever…" She called for the elevator.

"Let me go with you."

"No."

"Why not?"

"For one, the police and the Underdogs are looking for you too. Two, you pulled a gun on me. I can't trust you…"

She sighed and looked down. Jessica did have a point. "…Then at least tell me your game plan here."

The elevator arrived at the bottom in front of Jessica, and she stepped inside, pressing the ascend button. She turned to Vanessa before the elevator closed back up. "I'm going to see an old friend."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ta-da. Two updates, two days in a row, as apology for abandoning the story for 2 months lol. Ok, truthfully, I didn't really plan on doing two updates in a row like this, but my need to write was strong enough that I wrote a bunch of this chapter overnight, so here you go. With that said, see you next time. *waves*


	19. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica reunites with an old friend.

It was the usual day in Inkopolis today, despite the chaos that had been happening recently, and the cloudy sky had come to give the day a bit of a gray tint. A familiar Octoling was making her way through the sidewalk beside the busy street, walking past Inklings, occasional Octolings, and even lesser species like Jellyfish. She had her hair tied up in a pony style instead of her usual tentacurl style, as it was a new look she had been going for as of late. It was all pretty normal, but occasionally, she would look behind her, and around the area, scanning the people around her. As if something wrong could happen any second, or maybe as if she had something to hide.

Perhaps she was just paranoid, but truthfully, this had been her attitude for months now. Every day, when she went out, she had been anxiously looking over her shoulder, making sure nobody was onto her. And while, thankfully, she was usually fine, today… she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She scanned the area a bit more intently than usual, and of course, found nothing out of place. She sighed, wondering if she was indeed just paranoid, as she headed into the usual sandwich shop for lunch.

"Hello, Antonio." She gave a slight smile as she went up to the counter.

The cashier turned to her. "Hey, how's my best customer doing today?"

"I'm fine. Just coming in for the usual." She replied, staying polite despite her nervous feeling she still had.

"Right. Ham and cheese with the olive? Sliced in half?"

She smiled. "You know me well."

"Well, how can I forget? I make it for you 5 times a week." He chuckled a little. "I'll get it for you." He went to put one together.

"Thank you." She replied, and once he was gone, she continued to scan the area a bit. She still felt like someone was watching her. Her search ended up bringing her gaze to a particular poster, however, that had apparently been put on the wall nearby.

It was a simple wanted poster of Jessica Murdock from the IPD, with bold text that read **"See Something? Say Something!"**. The picture of Jessica that they used was an illustration that portrayed her with her more recent short black hair look. She stared at it, a hint of despair and regret in her eyes.

"So… how's your boyfriend?" Antonio suddenly asked, pulling her attention away from the poster.

She looked down and then back at Antonio. "He's fine. I've still been visiting him whenever I can, but… we're not sure when he's getting off his house arrest."

"That's fine, that's fine. Just make sure your relationship stays healthy, yeah?"

"Absolutely." She replied, before returning her gaze to the poster.

Soon, Antonio returned with a bagged sandwich, which he handed to her. He ended up following her gaze, however, also looking at the poster. "Ah, yeah… the vigilante. Dangerous times, huh?"

She just nodded awkwardly.

"Well… I can only hope that girl gets put where she belongs. A nice spot in prison. Promise me you'll be careful out there in the meantime?"

She nodded again. "…I-I will…" She took the sandwich and paid for it. "Thank you…"

"Any time. Come back soon, Bridgett." He smiled.

Bridgett nodded, taking the bag with her as she left, sighing to herself. She really hated that poster, and honestly, the nose in the illustration was a bit off anyway. It really bothered her. Whatever the case, she continued on her walk, deciding to find a nice spot to eat. She couldn't help but feel like… someone was _definitely_ watching her, however. The feeling just kept getting worse.

She kept walking, occasionally scanning the area again. The feeling of paranoia was only getting worse and worse, and as much as she wanted to tell herself she was being paranoid, she _did _have a very valid reason to be cautious. She continued walking for a while, until she couldn't take it anymore. She decided to test if someone was truly following her, slipping into an alleyway where no one was around. No one would normally go back here, right? And if someone was following her…

She let herself walk deep into the alleyway, keeping her footsteps slow to not lose the potential stalker. She took deep breaths, knowing she had the situation under control, and focused on what she could hear. Sure enough, after a moment, she could hear footsteps slowly approaching her, and she wasn't just hearing things. That was all she needed. Suddenly, she dropped her sandwich bag and whipped out her Octo Shot, swiftly turning around to hold the stalker at gunpoint. "Don't move."

The Inkling didn't even seemed surprised, but rose her hands in a surrender manner. Bridgett could swear she looked familiar, with the orange hipster hair, despite the cap and the sunglasses she was wearing. She, however, didn't want to get her hopes up. "...Did the Underdogs send you?" She asked, in a threatening manner.

"No, it's just me. You know me." The Inkling responded. "I need to talk to you… so please put down the gun…"

Even the voice sounded familiar… definitely familiar. Trembling a bit, she finally lowered her weapon a bit. "…J-Jessica…?"

Jessica just stared back, waiting for Bridgett to relax.

She started tearing up, not entirely sure she believed it. "...I-Is that really you…?"

She subtly nodded and took off her sunglasses. "…Hi, Eight."

Upon hearing her say that, Bridgett straight up broke down into tears, before she suddenly threw herself forward, wrapping her arms around her old friend. Jessica just hugged her back, somewhat nervously. Bridgett started crying harder, until it was turning into a sob.

* * *

**The Edge of the City**

Jessica and Bridgett had found a spot to relax nearby the lake, sitting on a bench. There wasn't anyone around to listen in on their conversation, but they had been sitting in silence for uncomfortably long.

Bridgett was the first to break the silence. "…I didn't think I'd ever see you again…"

Jessica looked at her, then back out to the lake. "…I didn't think so, either." She sighed.

"No, I mean… Up until you turned out to still be alive, I _really _didn't think I'd ever see you again… we all thought you were dead… we held a funeral…"

She looked down. "…Did you take it hard?"

She nodded. "I did... Callie and Marie did… Cuttlefish took it the hardest…"

"...How is everyone?"

She sighed. "Everyone got arrested…"

"I heard."

"Cuttlefish got sent to prison. Everyone else was placed under house arrest... for who knows how long. Pearl, Marina, and I are the only ones they couldn't find anything to charge us on, so we got let go quickly."

Jessica nodded and cleared her throat a bit. "Not as bad as it could've been…"

Bridgett fell into silence for another little bit before she asked her her own question. "…What about you? Where have you been?"

"...I went into hiding." She admitted.

"H-Hiding…? You let the world think you were dead while the Underdogs are still out there and you went into hiding?"

"It's more complicated than that."

"Explain it to me, then. Why did you think it was so important to go into hiding without telling anyone?"

Jessica sighed, and then after a moment, starting breaking down everything that happened; From the initial attack on her apartment that nearly killed her, to everything Bridgett needed to know about Daniel. Bridgett looked down, starting to tear up upon hearing the story.

"...Why didn't you reach out to me before…?" Bridgett asked after.

"...I decided to stay 'dead'. Letting anyone from the Splatoon know would've been a risk."

"I wouldn't have told anyone…"

"It's still a risk. Come on, what would you have done if you were in that situation?"

Bridgett thought about it before responding. "…I would've kept after the Underdogs… and I would've reached out to you…"

Jessica sighed.

"I don't know how to feel about this…" She admitted. "I mean, you gave up your agent duties, and you were only hunting the Underdogs because of the your schizophrenic brother?"

"To be fair, I _did_ try to find their big weapon… I didn't find it…"

"But it was all to get to Daniel…"

"...Yeah…"

"I can't… I can't believe this…" She stood up, starting to pace a little. "I thought you were better than this… and I… looked up to you… and then you just sat there in fucking hiding and let us mourn for you?" She started crying again. "I even started visiting your gravestone twice a week just so that I didn't forget about you… and what you _inspired _me to do."

"So I _did _inspire you to become a reckless vigilante when I was gone, huh?" Jessica suddenly replied. "Just like I used to be, am I right?"

Bridgett fell silent, staring at her. She decided to play dumb. "…I don't know what you're talking about."

"Seriously? Did you think I wouldn't piece it together? A mysterious Octoling vigilante starts to pop up after I left to track the Underdogs, and then started becoming more prominent after I 'died'? Not to mention that you looked like you were expecting someone to jump you when you were just casually walking down the sidewalk."

Bridgett looked down.

"You've been tracking the Underdogs. Ever since the Splatoon fell. You took over my job." Jessica continued.

"...Cuttlefish knew that they were dangerous, and you weren't around anymore to stop them. I stepped in and I've been following them." She defended herself.

"Ok, just to recap, didn't I specifically tell you to stay close to the ground and not do anything stupid the last time we saw each other? You could get yourself killed getting involved with the Underdogs. I sure as hell almost did."

"Well, you know what? I don't think you still have permission to scold me on what I should and shouldn't do. Not after you disappeared like that. Besides, I'm a Splatoon agent, just like you."

"Just like we _were. _There's no Splatoon to fall back on anymore." She sighed. "Jesus, do Pearl and Marina even know what the hell you've been doing, anyway? Even Dylan?"

"...They've gotten suspicious…" She admitted. "But I haven't told them…"

"Then stop lecturing me about keeping my own secrets."

Bridgett sighed and looked down again.

Jessica did the same, but looked like she could continue lecturing, but eased up. "…Your own arrogance aside… You hunting the Underdogs is exactly why I came to you…"

She looked at her.

"...I may need your help, Bridge. My head was out of the game before, but now that I have Daniel secured, and I've done some thinking… I decided I'm finishing my mission next. I'm tearing the Underdogs down to the ground. And at this point… I don't think I can do it alone."

"...You… don't…?"

She shook her head no. "…All I have is the name of the leader. Hugh Ward. Some shady guy up top with a mission."

"Hugh Ward?" Bridgett replied, a sting of familiarity in her voice.

"You've heard it?"

"...Maybe… I think I've heard some Octolings I've followed mention that name…"

That immediately earned Jessica's full, undivided attention. "Did they say anything else? Maybe about where to find him?"

"Not directly… but I maybe do have an idea on where to get the info…"

Jessica sighed in relief. Some more good news. "So where do we go?"

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Cuttlefish Bunker**

Daniel's eyes drifted awake as he awoke from his nap; he had been taking plenty of them lately as he couldn't exactly do much in his current position. He looked around again, his hallucinations again on full attack.

Among the hallucinations, however, he could see Vanessa, sitting by the dining table with his high-pressure charger in her hands. She seemed to be deep in thought. He blinked, and some of the hallucinations disappeared. He blinked again, wiping more away like a wiper on a windshield. Vanessa, however, was still there.

"...Are you real?" He decided to ask.

Vanessa ignored him.

"Hey…" He started shifting his chair a bit as best he could to turn to her. "This chair really isn't comfortable…"

"I don't care." Vanessa replied.

"Please care. I-" He shifted his chair again. "Jessica is holding me here against my will…"

"For a good reason."

"So?" He kept struggling. "Just… come on, please…"

She continued to ignore him.

"...Please!" He yelled desperately.

The room fell into silence for a bit before Vanessa spoke again. "…You know, this is an interesting charger." She changed the subject, messing around with the weapon around in her hand a bit. "Military grade, with lots of stored ink, and a blast high-pressure enough to blast right through someone's head without even splatting them… enough to splatter someone's brains on the wall… I don't know how you and your terrorist gang with the stupid name got these, but man… I'm impressed."

He stared at her. "…Can you give it back?"

"Why? Planning to use it on me?"

"No, just… I wanna get out of here…"

"What was it you used on Susan again? I mean, the trauma you gave me made me wanna forget the whole ordeal, but from what I can remember… you used a pair of scissors. Correct me if I'm wrong?"

"...P-Pair of scissors, yes, that's what I remember…" He said, sweating at this point.

"See, I can still remember. I just wish I had some scissors around here to use…"

"...You want to kill me?"

"Oh, don't be like that. Jessica for some reason wants you alive, she thinks she can somehow restore her lost childhood or something. She doesn't want to kill you." She stood up and started walking toward him.

He looked down.

She suddenly charged up the weapon and pointed it right at his forehead; one mere releasing of the trigger away from blasting his head apart. "But she's not here, and I'm sure as hell not Jessica."

He jumped a little, but he wasn't entirely sure why he was surprised. He looked up at her, not a word coming out.

"You really should've killed me while you had the chance, but you chose to kill the wrong girl." Vanessa continued, her voice breaking as she started to tear up. "So just tell me honestly… if you had a chance to go back and undo the shit you did to her, would you?"

"...I'd undo a lot of things…"

"...Do you regret it then? Do you regret what you did to Susan?"

He sighed, half expecting to get his face blasted off with what he was about to say. "…Well, honestly, she was just one girl in a lot of victims I-" He jumped again as the charger did go off, but quickly realized Vanessa had aimed it off to the side.

"Wrong answer." Vanessa replied, charging it up again and again holding him at gunpoint.

He started tearing up as well, the buzzing sound returning to full attack. "…If you're gonna kill me, just do it…"

A tear fell down Vanessa's cheek and her finger started trembling as she kept the trigger squeezed.

"...Dammit, what are you waiting for, just shoot me!" Daniel suddenly barked, causing Vanessa to jump slightly. "…Because I can't take it anymore… the voices, t-they're too loud, and Jessica just haunts me wherever I go…"

Vanessa braced herself to let go of the trigger, but there was… something in her mind that was screaming at her not to do it. There was an urge to end his life, but at the same time, there an urge not to.

Daniel grew more and more impatient, the buzzing sound in his ears becoming nearly deafening. "…SHOOT ME!"

Vanessa blinked, more tears streaming down her cheeks.

"KILL ME! END MY LIFE! END MY VOICES!" Daniel copied the voices he could hear, in an almost whiny voice. Veins started to become visible on his forehead. "SHOOT MEEE!"

Vanessa did finally let go of the trigger, blasting the charger, but to Daniel's dismay, she had again aimed it off the side. She started hyperventilating, overwhelmed by how much hatred she was feeling.

Daniel started sobbing. "Please aim it at my head… please just do it already…"

Shaking, Vanessa dropped the charger, staring at him. "…I can't do it…"

"DAMMIT, JUST DO IT ALREADY!" He freaked out again. "You don't even have to think about it, you just aim, you pull the trigger, and it's done! You can turn it on yourself afterward if you don't want the guilt!"

"No… no, I can't do it…"

"DO IT!" He started struggling in his chair again, but Vanessa just ignored him, heading back to her room with her gaze down and her breathing shaky. "VANESSA! DON'T LEAVE ME! DON'T LEAVE ME IN HERE WITH THAT DEMON! VANESSA!"

Vanessa shut her door, backed up to the wall, and quickly sank down to the floor, where she let herself break down sobbing.

* * *

**Later**

**The Edge of the City**

Jessica had been sitting alone by the same bench for a while now, and had put her sunglasses back on in case anyone came by. Luckily, she had been sitting in mostly silence, up until a car pulled up. She turned to it, somewhat cautiously.

The car came to a stop, parked, and the door opened. Bridgett stepped out, now in her full Deepsea Metro outfit with a golden pin in her hair, and an Octo Shot in her hand. She pulled out a Splattershot through the car door and tossed it to her.

Jessica effortlessly caught it out of the air. "Whose car is that? And why are you wearing that?"

"It's Marina's car. And the outfit is like an armor." She said, casually checking up on her Octo Shot.

"Armor? But your entire midriff is exposed."

"So? Lots of Octarian soldiers dress like this."

She sighed and walked to the car. "Whatever…"

"So, I did a quick check up, and there's an Octarian settlement we can drive to and break into today. I brought a hard drive with me, so if we do a quick download, we should be able to find out more about this Ward person."

"Good. As long as we're careful this time…"

"But first…" Bridgett pulled out a bag from the car and held it out to her. "Lunch."

She looked at her, before she somewhat reluctantly took it. "…Thanks."

"Just figured you might be hungry." She grabbed her own lunch and sat on the hood of the car.

Jessica's stomach rumbled a bit as soon as she heard that sentence, and with a shrug, she sat down next to her and began to eat.

Bridgett glanced at her as she ate as well.

"What?"

She looked away. "Nothing. Just… it's good to have you back, Agent 3."

"...Good to see you too, Agent 8." She replied, taking a bite. She looked back at her, and found herself eyeing Bridgett's hair. "…Can I ask you something?"

"Hm?"

"That weird pin in your hair, what's up with that? You've been carrying that thing with you ever since you escaped the Metro, and I noticed you started wearing it more when I left."

Bridgett shyly reached up to pull it out of her hair and show her. "It's… something I found down there. In a locker. It's a golden toothpick."

"So… what's special about it?"

She sighed, wondering if she even wanted to tell her. It was indeed a bit embarrassing to her. "It's… I wear it because… it reminds me of you."

"Of me?"

She nodded. "I… know it's a bit weird…"

"I mean, a little bit, but… why does it remind you of me?"

She sighed, staring at the toothpick. "…I once had this dream… after the NILS statue…"

Jessica looked at her.

Bridgett continued her story. "I went back down to the Metro for a bit soon after the NILS statue because Cuttlefish was down there. It was just a visit. The locker that held this toothpick was open, and I wanted to pick it up. But… I don't know, it was the weirdest thing…"

"What?"

"...Whenever I tried to pick it up, I entered, this… lucid dream… it almost felt like a memory… and it was all about you. I don't even know if it was a dream, exactly, I don't know what it was. Maybe I'm just crazy." She took a deep breath. "…In it, basically, I had to defeat you in a duel. Kinda like from the time I fought you in the statue. Except you were always crazy skilled… and you always overwhelmed me. And every time you splatted me, the dream sent me right back to the beginning, like a loop."

Jessica just kept staring at her, listening intently.

"...It took me a long time to even stand a chance against you in the dream… Took me a while to even muster the courage, to be honest… But… I think, in my hearts, I just wanted to be as good as you, so I kept fighting. As soon as I broke your armor enough and you lost consciousness, the dream ended, I never got it again, and… I've been carrying the toothpick ever since."

"...Do you look at me as some kind of nightmare, or something?" Jessica finally spoke.

"No, not a nightmare… I mean… I used to…"

Jessica looked down.

"I've gotta be honest, Jessica, you scared me down in the Metro. When you were brainwashed and tried to kill me. When I got out of the Metro, I didn't even want to talk to you until you yourself came up to me… and then I got to know you…" She played with the toothpick a bit more in her hand, before inserting it back into her hair. "And I sobbed for days when I heard what the Underdogs did to you…"

Jessica had straight up stopped eating at this point, no longer feeling hungry. She gulped a bit, looking down. "…I'm sorry…"

"...Don't be, I understand why you left now…" She put down her own food and put a hand on her shoulder. "The Underdogs are out there. Right now. Probably plotting against us. But we're plotting against them too. I know we can stop them now that you're back. So just please promise me that you won't disappear again…"

She decided to ignore that. "…We should get moving. We have a lot of work to do." She threw her food into a nearby trash can before opening the passenger door of the car and getting in.

Bridgett sighed and looked down, before she threw her food away as well and got into the driver's seat. She plugged in her seatbelt, before turning back to Jessica, a bit concerned. "…At least promise me that you'll be careful."

"...Fine…" Jessica replied.

"You have to say it."

She sighed. "…I promise I'll be careful."

Bridgett nodded gratefully, before she started up the car. "So let's go shut them down."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, quick "PSA" from me. I know there's a lot going on in the world right now with the coronavirus scares and whatnot, and I know a lot of people are even getting dismissed from school and work and stuff at this point. I just wanted to mention that unless I myself get too sick to write or something, I intend to continue with this story as planned, and I'm hoping to get this finished at one point this year (hopefully way sooner than the actual end of the year). Hopefully you will keep reading as well. So, friendly reminder to keep your hands washed and to stay healthy, and I will see you next chapter. *waves*


	20. Team Effort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica and Bridgett team up against the Underdogs.

A lone male Octoling sat alone at his desk, in the middle of a large, yet old and abandoned warehouse in downtown Inkopolis. There were several Octolings around him, doing military-style training protocols in Underdogs armor, while he sat in silence as he looked over a map of the city. On it was a list of Underdog bases, as well as the gangs they were affiliated with. He sighed a bit, writing new notes over it, until a female voice spoke to her. "Deangelo."

He looked up at his assistant, a female Octoling, before turning back to his map, shaking his head a bit. "Look at this…" He said, pointing back down to the map. "All of Inkopolis is gonna be a pile of dust soon when Ward is done with it… he's gonna unleash that weapon of his right in the smack-dab middle of the city. Whole place will be gone within minutes. Were you able to contact Ward yet about when that's gonna happen, and where we're going after?"

"No. Ward and Ayesha have been busy looking for Agent 3." She replied.

He sighed, looking like he was nervous they were gonna unleash the weapon any day now. "Will you try again, please?"

"I will. But first, we have a visitor."

"...Who?"

"Octoling girl who says she wants to join the Underdogs. She knew the password."

"Where'd she get it?"

"Not sure. But she seems… familiar…" She gave him a knowing look.

"Familiar…" He immediately knew who she was talking about. He folded up his map and put it away. "…Bring her to me."

She nodded and walked away, before soon coming back. Following her were three more Octolings; two guards, walking alongside Bridgett. Bridgett was now wearing a leather jacket over her Deepsea Metro outfit in order to hide it partially (something she had bought in a hurry), but her Octo Shot had already be confiscated.

One of the guards brought the Octo Shot straight to Deangelo's desk and put it down. "She had this on her. We didn't find any other weapons."

He picked it up, examining it and even sniffing it a bit. Bridgett squinted slightly at the sight.

"...Basic Octo Shot. Casual weaponry." He said to her. "I'm sure you could do far better than this, sweetheart."

"It gets the job done." Bridgett replied.

He shrugged. "Fair enough, but my point still stands. Sit."

Before Bridgett could do it herself, the other Octolings suddenly grabbed her and shoved her down into the seat in front of the desk. She grunted in surprise.

Deangelo suddenly laughed. "Can't handle aggression? I doubt you're very fun in bed with that attitude."

Bridgett ignored him, looking around at the surrounding Octolings with some nervousness in her eyes. Things were indeed scarier when she was actually facing them compared to when she did the planning.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" Deangelo continued.

She thought about her answer. "…Sasha."

"Why the hesitance, Sasha? You scared?"

She stared at him. She had a bad feeling they could tell she was lying. "…I'm not scared."

"You certainly seem reluctant, though. Why are you anxious?"

"...Because I happen to know who I'm signing up for. I know enough about Hugh Ward to know that he's a threat."

The room fell silent as soon as she muttered "Hugh Ward". She looked around again, and nearby Octolings who were training before had now stopped to stare at her. She gulped, somewhat audibly.

"...How do you know about Hugh Ward?" Deangelo asked.

She didn't even know how to get out of this one. But, she did have one risky idea. She thought back to Jessica's story. "…Mia Harper. She's a friend of mine, and she told me."

Another Octoling suddenly came up, talking to Deangelo in Octarian; they must've assumed Bridgett couldn't understand, but she could understand every word: "Mia Harper is dead. She has to be the Octarian vigilante, and she's likely sided with Agent 3."

Well, that was a bad move. She didn't even remember Jessica telling her that Mia died. She looked around again, realizing that some Octolings were preparing to attack. Silently and as sneakily as possible, she slowly reached into her pocket, blindly turned on her phone, and then tapped the screen a single time.

Another Octoling spoke up, also in Octarian. "What is she doing?"

Yet another Octoling came up to her and forcefully reached into her pocket, pulling out the phone and examining it. He immediately grew angry. "…She sent out some kind of signal!"

Deangelo sighed. "…Grab her."

"Wait, it's not what you think!" Bridgett yelled in response, as multiple Octolings came up to grab her and forcefully stand her up. One of them pointed his high-pressure charger at the back of her head.

"That's what they all say." Deangelo chuckled as he stood up as well, pulling out his own phone. "But your name isn't really Sasha, is it?"

Bridgett struggled against the Octolings in vain, without a word.

"No, of course not. I think, in actuality… your name is Bridgett. Former Agent 8 of the late New Squidbeak Splatoon." He showed her his phone, which had some of her information on it. "Did you really think that you could show your face here and lie to us when everything about you got leaked to the public? For a Splatoon member, you're pretty stupid. And cowardly."

She sighed. "…Well, I had the guts to show up here at all, didn't I?"

He suddenly laughed. "True, true. You're lucky I like you. You're cute. So, I'll go ahead and make you a deal."

"...Some kind of sexual favor?" She guessed.

"No, no. Simply, we'll give you a few more minutes to live before we mop your brains off the ground, as long as you tell us everything there is to know about Agent 3. I imagine she's a bit of a… special girl to you."

"...And if I don't?"

"...We'll find a more painful way to kill you."

"...You still won't get it from me…"

"Oh, yeah? You want the painful way out?"

Suddenly, at that moment, the lights in the warehouse suddenly powered down, plunging it into darkness with the minimal sunlight that was peering in. Everyone looked around, except for Bridgett, who closed her eyes as if she expected to get her brains blown out any second.

"...Check the breakers!" Deangelo yelled out in Octarian.

"Check the breakers!" Some Octolings relayed.

Bridgett opened her eyes again when she realized she wasn't dead yet, and continued to look around. A small grin etched on her face.

Deangelo noticed. "…Got a joke you wanted to tell us?"

"...You wanted to know about Agent 3…" She said, looking up at him as gunfire and yelling could be heard sounding off in the other room. "…Pretty sure she wants to know more about you, too…"

He looked around a last time, immediately panicking as he realized what was happening. He turned back to his men. "For fucks sake… Kill the Octoling!"

The Octoling behind her again raised his charger, this time with the intention of killing her, but was interrupted as he was suddenly splatted by a flurry of orange ink, his charger dropping to the ground. Bridgett gasped in surprise.

Another Octoling nearby swore as they turned around; Indeed, Jessica was right behind them, Splattershot in hand. "It's her!" Someone screamed. Every nearby Octoling turned to fire at her, but Jessica swiftly dodged, before shooting at and splatting the Octolings that were guarding Bridgett. Their weapons all fell to the ground, their owners unable to even do anything. Deangelo took one look at the situation, before suddenly booking it in the opposite direction.

Bridgett watched. "Deangelo's getting away!"

Jessica kicked one Octoling to the ground and then splatted her at her feet, turning to look at the fleeing mob boss. In response, she picked up the confistated Octo Shot from one of the splatted Octolings and tossed it to her. "Go stop him."

Bridgett caught the weapon and nodded, running after him. As she did, Jessica immediately turned to more approaching Octolings, soon getting into another shootout.

Deangelo, meanwhile, ran into the other room, where he immediately put in an earpiece and pressed a button. "…The vigilantes are here! Both of them! I need backup! NOW! And tell Wa-" He was interrupted as he suddenly felt someone hit his head, and he fell to his knees, before someone reached into his ear and pulled the earpiece out. He looked over to see Bridgett drop it to the floor and crush it with her foot.

Before he could do anything else, she pointed her Octo Shot at him. Holding him at gunpoint, she unzipped her jacket and took it off, revealing her Metro outfit. "…I bet you could guess why we're here."

He looked up at her. "...Yeah… couple little girls playing the vigilante game… I know why you're here… you wanna kill me and make yourself look like some kind of a hero…"

Bridgett shook her head. "I'm not killing anyone. We just need information."

"...And what if I don't give it?"

"...Then we'll get nasty."

He suddenly laughed. "You don't even look like you have it in you…"

"You don't know me."

"I don't have to…" He scoffed a little. "One look and I can tell…"

Bridgett didn't even respond, but continued to stare him down with a look of hesitancy in her eyes.

"...Not gonna say anything?"

She remained silent.

"Nothing? …Hm… Fine…" He suddenly swatted at her, successfully grabbing her weapon straight from her hand, before swatting her in the face with it. He was actually pretty strong, and Bridgett was knocked backward with a grunt. Yet, she wasn't out of the fight yet; she shook her head and felt some ink that was now leaking from her chin, before she stood back up with her fists raised, in fight or flight mode.

Deangelo stood up as well, not even using the Octo Shot. "Pretty girl wants to fight?"

"Don't even try it…" She lunged forward and swung her fist at him, but Deangelo barely dodged and responded by elbowing her right in the face. She yelped, again falling down. Just like the first time, she quickly shook it off and got back up, attempting another strike; it only took Deangelo two more counter hits and then a final _swat _to practically send her flying into a nearby bookstand, where she collapsed to the ground with a grunt, knocking things down with her.

Weaker now, she again tried to stand up, but Deangalo had already had enough. He pointed the Octo Shot at her head, holding her down. "No more games… I told you, you're dying here…"

Bridgett just stared up at him nervously, unable to do much else.

He was about to pull the trigger, when a knife suddenly flew at him, slashing his hand. He screamed out, dropping the weapon. Bridgett spun her head to see that it was indeed Jessica who threw the weapon, after already taking out most of the Octolings there.

Deangelo panicked as he saw the situation, and started backing up, holding his hand. "Son of a bitch…"

"What, are you scared?" Jessica walked up to him and suddenly did a roundhouse kick, knocking him down. He attempted to get back up, but she put her foot on his chest before crouching down and holding her splattershot to his face. "Here's the deal. You're going to tell us where to find Hugh Ward. The longer you take to talk, the harder this is gonna be for you."

Bridgett got up, standing over them just to watch.

Deangelo stared up at them. "…I'm not even telling you my own mother's name…"

She suddenly hit him with the weapon. "Try again."

Deangelo fell silent.

Jessica gritted her teeth, turning the weapon so that the back was facing Deangelo's face, where she proceeded to pummel him hard with it, several times, until his face was swelling up. Bridgett watched and grimaced, a bit disgusted.

Deangelo spit up some ink at her face. "…Is that all…?"

Jessica growled in anger, before starting to pummel him even harder and faster, at least until she was suddenly stopped by Bridgett.

"Jessica, stop! You're going to kill him!"

"I don't mind the idea." Jessica said, continuing.

Bridgett looked at her, surprised by the violence. "...You keep that up, and he _will _die before we can get anything from him!"

"I'm aware!"

At this point, Bridgett sighed and looked away, no longer able to watch.

Finally, Jessica did stop, pointing the gun at his now extremely swollen face. "Talk or else I'll keep going. And trust me, you won't survive that."

Deangelo spit up more ink, genuinely scared for his life at this point. "…There are computer servers in the building… everything you need to know about the Underdogs… Hugh Ward… their base… the weapon… all of it… just don't kill me…"

Jessica nodded, and finally took her foot off, standing up.

"...You have to protect me…" Deangelo continued. "…They'll kill me for talking… please, I didn't do anything to you…"

Jessica thought about it, but not for long. "…You're not worth it. You want protection? Stay the hell away from the Underdogs."

"Please!"

Bridgett jumped as Deangelo's ink suddenly splattered through the room. She turned around to see that Jessica did indeed pull the trigger, splatting him. "…Jessica…?"

Jessica wiped some of the ink off of her face, before slowly turning back to her. "…You heard him. Go get the hard drive you brought. I'll find the servers."

Bridgett stared at her, her face a mixture of concern and disgust from the violence she just witnessed. Jessica wasn't quite like this when she last saw her. Regardless, she had to push her feelings aside; they were on a mission after all. She gave Jessica a slight nod, before walking out and back to her car to get the hard drive.

Jessica stood still for another moment, silently, before walking to find the servers like she said. Unbeknownst to her, however, a small, insect like robot from Deangelo's jacket was crawling onto her shoe just before she walked off, before folding up and attaching itself to her, disguising itself.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Underdogs Base**

Hugh Ward and Ayesha were sitting around in Ward's office, when they heard a beeping sound come from one of the monitors. They both looked up to see that on the monitor with a map of Inkopolis, it zoomed in on Deangelo's hideout, where a red dot appeared.

Ayesha stood up from her swivel chair, not caring that she was completely nude. "…What is that?"

"...It's Deangelo's tracker…" Ward replied, doing some typing on a keyboard that was on his desk. "Deangelo sent out a distress signal saying that the vigilantes were there… It tagged one of them."

"...Agent 3…" Ayesha quickly realized, grinning. "We have important information stored at that facility."

"I know. But they won't make it far with it." He turned to her. "I want you to cut them off. If it's indeed Agent 3 and the Octoling, we can kill two birds with one stone. We'll destroy the information after."

"Sounds like a party." Ayesha immediately went to get redressed, not even bothering to brush them off after grabbing them from the floor. "Want me to take care of Deangelo?"

He thought about it. "…Not yet. Worry about the vigilantes for now…"

She nodded and grinned wider. "They'll be dead within the hour."

"Thank you, Ayesha."

Ayesha was about to head out, but stopped by the door for one more question. "And what about Danny boy?"

"...Either he's already dead, or… he'll turn up sooner or later…"

"...Fine…" With that, she headed out. Ward sat back down at his desk, silently staring down the monitors with a relaxed pose. A long, almost somber sigh escaped his mouth.

* * *

**Back with Jessica and Bridgett**

Several minutes passed as Jessica and Bridgett waited in the computer server room, with a hard drive downloading as much information as they could. Jessica sighed, cleaning some ink off of her jacket.

"...What if there's another virus on this thing?" She asked after a bit.

Bridgett looked at her, then back at the hard drive, sighing. "For one, Marina made a couple modifications to this hard drive after that just to prevent something like that. Two… the Splatoon is already canned, what does it matter? We already agreed we'll be more careful this time."

"...Fair point…" Jessica sighed back.

Bridgett suddenly turned back to her. "...Can we talk about what happened here? Please?"

"What is there to talk about?"

"...I just… I couldn't help but notice, how… angry, you seemed… when you beat down Deangelo. And splatting him wasn't even necessary, we already had him defeated."

"He'll wake up feeling like shit, so what? I was interrogating him. Part of the job."

"Beating a man half to death is 'part of the job' to you?"

"I wasn't going to kill him."

"Am I supposed to just take your word on that after what I saw?"

"Why do you care, anyway? He's an Underdog."

"I, just… look, I know what you went through was horrible… I can't even imagine how much you suffered… but the thing is, we _all_ suffered. So, if you have all this anger and hatred boiling up inside you, I want to be there for you. To help you. Like…. like how you were there for me before you left to take care of the Underdogs."

Jessica looked at her, silently.

"...I want you to be like the friend I knew in the Splatoon… not like the nightmare I dreamed about with the damn toothpick." Bridgett clarified.

Jessica was about to respond, but before she could, they could hear helicopter noises approaching.

Bridgett looked around; there wasn't exactly a window in the room to look out of. "…Is that…?"

"...We need to go." Jessica walked over and pulled the hard drive out, even if prematurely. "Hopefully that's enough… Come on."

"What if that _isn't_ enough?" She asked, following her.

"Then we'll think of something else." As the helicopter got louder, they started to run out of the facility, and Jessica threw on her hoodie as they ran back to their car.

Bridgett practically threw herself into the driver's seat and started it up. "Where are we going?"

"I'll tell you the location once we know we're not getting followed by helicopters! Just drive!"

Panicked by the urgency in her voice, Bridgett slammed her foot down and the car sped off, quite speedily.

Jessica nearly hit her head as she was tossed in her seat, before the car then collided with a couple trash cans just because Bridgett was driving too fast to steer. "Discreetly, please!?" She snapped at her.

"I'm sorry!" Bridgett yelled back, starting to drive normally once they were on the road.

Jessica looked out the window; the helicopter that was passing overhead didn't seem to be Underdog or police owned, and flew by normally. She sighed in relief and then relaxed, putting her seatbelt on. "…We want to go to Cuttlefish Bunker… You should know the location…"

"The apocalyptic one? That's where you're hiding?"

She nodded. "Vanessa and Daniel are there… we can group up safely…"

Bridgett sighed a bit and subtly nodded as well, but didn't take her eyes off the road. She drove the car up onto the highway to make the drive faster.

A little while of silent driving passed. At one point, Bridgett decided to start talking again, breaking the silence. "...You know… despite our argument… and the near-death experience… it was actually pretty fun to fight alongside you again…"

Jessica stared at her, then back out the window. "…Yeah… it wasn't bad."

"...Makes me wish that Cuttlefish assigned me to the Underdogs mission with you… could've been a lot of fun. And maybe I could've helped… prevent all this…"

"...Yeah, maybe… but that's in the past now…"

"...I know…" Bridgett replied, sadly. "…But I still have hope that we can… you know, we can get back to where we were…"

Jessica sighed. "…I'm not sure that's gonna happen. After this Underdogs thing, after the city is safe and I finally get some closure with Daniel, I'm... I'm done… I don't need to stick around after that…"

Bridgett opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She just kept her eyes on the road, disappointed, for almost a solid minute before she spoke again. "…Jessica, I know that things are different now, but I don't want to-"

"LOOK OUT!" Jessica suddenly interrupted, seeing that a car on the opposite lane was turning to intentionally run right into them.

"SH-" Bridgett attempted to swerve out of the way, but the best reflexes in the world couldn't have saved them; the car collided with them head on, and both cars spun out of control, all of the windows shattering. Luckily, however, the car remained upright, and soon bounced to a stop. Both girls already had multiple cuts from the glass, but nothing serious.

A moment passed as they both recollected their senses, but afterward, the first thing Jessica did was check on Bridgett. "Are you hurt!?"

"...I-I don't think so…" She took a moment to examine her cuts, but something caught her attention from outside what used to be the windows. "DUCK!"

Jessica looked out as well, only having a split second to see that several Octolings, with high-pressure weaponry, were approaching the car, not even caring that the accident was causing traffic chaos on the highway. As they opened fire on the car, both girls transformed into their squid/octopus forms and squirmed out of their seatbelts, getting onto the floor and ducking as low as they could, the car being slowly torn apart around them.

Ayesha soon walked up herself, sniffing in some smoke from a burning car before holding up her fist to halt the gunfire. "That's enough! Check for corpses!"

Multiple Octolings began approaching the car, where the vigilantes were still ducked down. Bridgett was actually panicking a bit, whimpering in her Octopus form.

"...Listen to me…" Jessica whispered. "We have to get out of here… but we have to split up…"

"I-I can't…" Bridgett silently panicked. "…T-They're gonna kill us before we can, I-I can't focus…" She started hyperventilating.

"Listen to me." Jessica repeated, staying calm. "You wanted the vigilante life. But sometimes it requires improvisation- in life or death situations. Do you understand? Think about how you got through the Metro. Stay calm. Do what I say."

Hearing her words, Bridgett was able to relax, taking deep breaths.

It was only another seconds before multiple Octolings made it to their car, and opened the doors, pointing their guns into the car. Strangely enough, however, the car was now empty.

"Shit… they're not here!" One Octoling called out to Ayesha.

"Start searching, then! They can't have gone far!" Ayesha called back, pulling out a knife. "Mommy needs a win today…" She muttered to herself.

"Split up! Kill anyone who moves!" She yelled at the other Octolings, and just like that, everyone on the scene dispersed. They began separately searching among the many cars that were spread randomly throughout the highway thanks to the crash, where there were still lots of civilians around. A good amount of them were still hiding in their cars, but another good amount were also trying to flee, only to be gunned down by any Octolings who saw them.

Ayesha was getting in on the action too as she did her own search, throwing her knives with great accuracy into the throats of any civilian she saw. "Come out, Agent 3~! I promise to not crush your head under my boot~!" She called out, before starting to hum to a tune to herself as she walked along.

Another few moments passed, and the Octolings were starting to get more separated from each other, which was the perfect opportunity for the girls to strike. One Octoling in particular was very alone, not even a civilian in sight as he passed, when Jessica silently snuck out from underneath a car in her squid form, barely making a noise. She slithered up until she was close, and then made her move, suddenly transforming back and giving him a solid whack in back of the head. He collapsed, but Jessica didn't let him hit the ground, instead grabbing him and easing him down. She then took his weapon and took it apart, before leaving the parts behind and moving on, sneaking along the cars.

Bridgett was doing the same, taking out any Octolings that she could as stealthily as possible, even if she didn't think to disable their weapons like Jessica was. Also unlike Jessica, she was leaving a bit more of a mess, and even left one guy bleeding before moving on. As a result, it wasn't long until the other Octolings noticed. "Hey!" She walked over to one unconscious Octoling, before calling out to the rest. "They're on the attack!"

Jessica sighed. There went the element of surprise. However, at least from her count, there weren't too many Octolings left at this point. Perhaps now they reached a point where they could fight their way out. Taking a deep breath, she made sure her Splattershot was ready, and then suddenly lunged out to make her attack.

The closest Octoling, who saw an attack coming, immediately turned to her and opened fire, but Jessica swiftly dodged, rolled over to her, knocked the weapon out of her hand, and then sweep kicked her down, where she casually used her Splattershot to splat her at her feet. Now, however, the rest of the Octolings were coming at her, opening fire in her direction. She swiftly dodged, as the blasts of ink hit the cars around her, barely missing. She leaped onto and then off a car, firing ink back at them midair, although she didn't splat anyone.

Bridgett, who saw that the Octolings were gained up on Jessica, also came out of hiding, firing at them with her Octo Shot. Some of the Octolings turned around to fire at her, and she ran behind the cars, firing back.

Jessica took the distraction to go in for another attack, kicking, disarming, and then splatting a couple more Octolings. Unfortunately for her, however, a stronger Octoling was able to hit her, knocking the Splattershot from her hand. He attempted to shoot her with his own weapon, but Jessica swiftly disarmed him as well, leaving them both with nothing but their fists.

As they brawled, Bridgett came in closer, successfully splatting a couple Octolings herself, when suddenly, a knife flew past her, just barely missing her hair and stabbing a car next to her. She turned to the source of the knife, and saw that Ayesha was coming right at her, and was preparing to throw more. She gasped, using her Octopus form to duck under the car and slither to the other side.

"Oh, come on, babe!" Ayesha called out to her. "Let's have a chat! Octo to Octo!"

Bridgett took another deep breath, repeating Jessica's words to herself in her head. She knew she had to fight her way through this one, too. Holding her Octo Shot up, she waited another moment until Ayesha came around, although she could barely react in time as Ayesha suddenly threw more knives. After the first one missed, she gasped and barely dodged the second one, rolling over the car hood and then firing at her. Ayesha dodged as well, throwing a third knife and missing.

Jessica, meanwhile, was busy cleaning up the last of the other Octolings. With as strong a kick as she could muster, she successfully knocked down the Octoling she was brawling with, where she then proceeded to land another punch on his face and knock him out. Then, she swiftly leaped forward and rolled over him, reclaiming her Splattershot, before quickly splatting the last two that were trying to take her down, who were simply too slow to match. She relaxed a bit, panting.

Bridgett, who was hiding from Ayesha and her lethal knife throws, noticed. "Jess! Help!"

Jessica turned to see Bridgett's situation, and quickly went over, walking straight up to Ayesha. Ayesha, who only had one knife left, pulled it out and immediately attempted to slash at Jessica multiple times once she got close, only to watch Jessica dodge each one and counter. Now feeling comfortable, Bridgett came out as well, attempting to splat her, but Ayesha was too swift for her, and was able to disarm her with a kick. She grunted, nearly falling down, but quickly got back up and rejoined the fight.

Now fighting both vigilantes, Ayesha held her ground and tried to slash at both of them, but was unable to get either of them as they both dodged with great skill, especially Jessica. Finally, Jessica was able to disarm her of the knife with a kick, and Bridgett gave another even stronger kick to Ayesha's face, successfully knocking her back. Ayesha tried to get back up once again with an angry yell, but Jessica thought ahead too quickly, and suddenly grabbed her, straight up throwing her over the fence and off the highway. She plummeted straight down, but somewhat eerily, didn't fall with a scream of any kind.

Finally alone and able to breathe, they both looked over, seeing that… Ayesha had vanished. Bridgett blinked, leaning over to look beneath the highway. "…Where did she go?"

Jessica sighed. "…I don't know… but I figure we'll be seeing her again anyway… damn girl's like a cockroach…"

"...Are you hurt?"

She turned to her. "No. You?"

"No… I just… how did they find us…?"

"Maybe they found out about our car?"

"I don't know… they were waiting for us…"

"Either way, we can't use that car anymore… we have to… wait…" Her sentence drifted off as she looked down, noticing something.

Bridgett looked at her. "What?"

"...Check your clothes. Feel everywhere you can. For a small disk." She leaned down to look at her shoe, seeing the tracker.

Bridgett looked confused, but awkwardly did so. It didn't take Jessica long to pull the disk off her own shoe, but as she did, its mechanical legs popped out, struggling as if it was alive. "…Gotcha."

"Is that a tracker?"

"Yeah… Should've known those fuckers would still have these…" She stood up and dropped it to the ground. It immediately started trying to crawl back to her foot to reattach itself, but she stomped on it before it could.

Bridgett checked her own shoes as well. "…I think I'm clean."

"Then let's get the hell out of here. Is the hard drive safe?"

"Um…" She ran back to where their car was, and then reached inside, pulling it out. "Yes, it's here."

Jessica started walking. "Then let's lay low until we find another car to steal…" Bridgett nodded and followed, holding the hard drive close.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Underdogs Base**

As the chaos unfolded on the highway, Hugh Ward was staring at his monitors in his office, where it was showing a satellite image of the very location, with a red dot representing Jessica's tracker. With his one good eye, he kept a steady watch on it, all the way until the red dot blinked and then vanished. He stared at the screen, unphased.

Silently, he looked down at his own desk and pressed a button on his phone. "Ayesha, report."

…Silence. He began to grow nervous.

"...Ayesha. Report immediately." He commanded again.

Silence for another moment before the phone line buzzed to life, and Ayesha's voice spoke back to him, although it sounded like she was talking from a damaged earpiece. _"...They g_t _way… They… They got m_… I'm hu_t, b_be…"_

Ward sighed in relief a bit upon just hearing her voice, but frowned when he heard about the situation. "…What happened?"

_"I'll tel_ you when _ see you _gain… And, oh, _rust me… I'm s_ill fine… Pain is th_ o_y real f_ling we have, after all…" _She gave a creepy giggle. _"…They'll feel my p_n so_n… I pr_mise _…"_

Ward smiled just a bit, but only for a second. "…I'm glad that you still feel that way. I'll see you soon, Ayesha. Come home safe."

Ayesha didn't respond, and the line went dead as she hung up. Ward looked back up at the monitors, clenching his fist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, quickie announcement. I've been thinking about about how to change things up a bit with my Fanfiction "schedule" lately, and since I do have NSS:OD on hold until this story is finished and because I have an outline raring to go, I'm actually planning on starting another new story soon. It'll be short, only 6 chapters, will be set in this universe, and will be focused on the Squid Sisters; you can find more details on my FF.net profile if you're interested. If this goes to plan, I'm going to be working on both stories at the same time and it will probably be finished before this one, but given that I've been planning and holding it off for about a year now, I think it's time to finally write it. So keep an eye on that if you want, and I'll see you next time. *waves*


	21. Hard Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While uncovering the information from Bridgett's hard drive, Bridgett meets Vanessa, and Jessica plans her own endgame.

**Cuttlefish Bunker**

"...What did it feel like…?"

"...What? What did what feel like?"

"When you killed your parents the first time… what did you feel?"

Vanessa and Daniel were relaxed down in the bunker's dining room, Daniel still tied to his chair, while Vanessa was in a chair, sitting considerably far away. They had been sitting in awkward silence for a little while now, with Vanessa not knowing what to say, until just a moment ago.

Daniel looked down. "I… well… it wasn't exactly the relieving feeling I was hoping for…"

"...What did they even do to you…?"

"No, they didn't do anything. I mean… I think at the time, I was thinking that maybe they weren't on my side, that they wanted me to suffer… but now, I realize… it was all Jessica… or, maybe it wasn't even Jessica… maybe it was just myself… maybe I lost myself… I don't know…"

"...Why didn't you kill Jessicat that day?"

"I wanted to, but Mom had already sent her out of the house when I burned it down… she didn't come back until after."

"...So if you didn't feel relieved… what did you feel, then? Scared? Did it feel good?"

Daniel looked up at her. "...Why the sudden interest?"

Vanessa didn't respond.

"...Do you still want to kill me…?"

"...After what you did to Susan, there's a lot of things I wanna do to you."

"You had a chance to kill me, and you put the gun down."

"...I know…"

"...You can still pick it back up and-"

"God dammit, just answer my question, what do you feel when you kill people? Does it feel good? Does it… give you relief of any kind?"

"...At first."

Vanessa stared at him, as if contemplating again if she wanted to try it.

"See, at first, you get to feel the satisfaction of the achievement… I mean… one more obstacle out of your way, right? And just the feeling of knowing it's something you can do… taking a life… but then you start to feel the guilt… regret… when you think back and think too deeply into it, and you realize… all the memories they had… all the dreams they had… all the thoughts they had, everything they were, it's just… gone. Because of you… you remember that they had lives before you came along… ever since I killed my parents, I… I've wanted to run up to them, hug them, and tell them I'm sorry… "

"...And what did you feel when you killed Susan?"

"...I didn't feel anything. Not for her specifically, at least… after a while, uh… victims… blur together…"

"You don't even feel one bit of remorse for what you did to my friend?"

"I didn't say that. She's just one more body in a pile that maybe I shouldn't have killed. But you know what? Just because I regret killing them doesn't mean I wouldn't do it again…"

"How could you even say that?"

"Because, it's… it's just a part of who I am… the Executioner is a part of me… it's… it's like how Agent 3 seems to be a part of Jessica… we're not us without those things…"

She looked down. "…I… guess I can see that… I mean… Jessica gave up the Agent 3 life, and… she's not all there anymore…"

"Exactly my point." He scooted his chair closer a bit. "We're both Murdocks. Maybe violence just runs in our ink…"

"...Were your parents violent?"

"...My dad could be when he wanted to… but he never stepped over the line…"

"I never even knew my parents…" She admitted. "So not like I have a way of knowing what runs in my ink…"

"...Well, you're asking me about what killing feels like… maybe… maybe you're not so different from us…"

She looked up at him. "…What did you just say?"

"I said that maybe you're not too different from us… you wanted to kill me… you almost did…"

"You think I'm-" She found at herself at a loss of words for a moment, and she angrily stood up. "I am not, nor will I ever be, like you. You know what you are? You're a murderer, who hid behind a terrorist organization, and killed innocent people. You killed Susan, who didn't do anything to anyone. And- And Jessica, I know you basically did kill her. And honestly, when I think about it, I can even see the same shit in her. Neither of you are clean. I am not like your shitty family."

"...You wanna know what I think you are?"

"Yeah? What's that?"

"...I think maybe you're wrong… the more I talk to you… the more I feel the same hatred from you that I felt the day I snapped and burned my house down…"

That got Vanessa to shut up. She looked like she was trying to come up with a response, but nothing was coming out, and she stared at him, a bit shaky.

"I'm telling you right now, you can… you can pick up that gun, aim it, and pull the trigger. I'll be dead in one blast and then it'll be over. I promise."

She eyed the gun, but didn't move.

"Dammit, either kill me, or let me go." Daniel replied, not even bothering to struggle against his bonds at this point.

"...And what would you do if I did let you go?"

"...Kill myself."

She shook her head. "…Jessica doesn't want you dead…"

"And all of a sudden, this is about what Jessica wants?"

"Look, I… I know that she doesn't seem all there anymore… but to be fair, I've slept with her twice and I've seen that she has a soft side just like everyone else, so… maybe, if I keep doing what she wants… she'll give me what _I_ want."

"...And what's that? To kill?"

"...I want to be known… I… want to be like what Jessica used to be…"

"...That road usually involves killing…"

"...Maybe…"

"So then kill me!" He suddenly squirmed again. "Come on, please, either kill me or let me go. I'm not having it any other way."

Vanessa just turned away.

"And hey, maybe even if you let me go, I… I can help you… maybe… I can help you with what you want… so please…"

She stared at the wall, and as she heard Daniel struggle some more, she turned back around, slowly. "…Would you really?"

"I could train you… how to be a killer… and then, if you really want to help people, and get attention after that, by all means… just please start cooperating with me… do SOMETHING!"

She jumped slightly at the last word. "…You're unhinged…"

"I'M NOT UNHINGED, JUST… COME ON! DO SOMETHING!" He went back to his original habit of trying to struggle out of the ropes.

Before Vanessa could respond, they heard the elevator activate at that moment, and Daniel stopped, as they both turned to it. She grabbed the gun just in case, pointing it at the elevator, as it descended to their level and opened up, revealing Jessica and Bridgett. Bridgett was holding a laptop and the hard drive.

Vanessa lowered the gun a bit. "Jess…"

"Put down the gun…" Jessica replied, walking in with her.

Vanessa obliged reluctantly, dropping it to the ground. Daniel sighed angrily

Bridgett looked around as she walked in. "…This place, feels… familiar…"

"You've been here?" Vanessa asked.

She shook her head. "…Just a weird déjà vu feeling…"

"...Who are you?"

"Bridgett." She said, setting the laptop and hard drive on the table. "Well, um… I guess if you want, you can just call me Eight…" She looked at her. "…You're Vanessa?"

"Jess told you about me?"

She nodded. "She caught me up on mostly everything since she vanished."

"Including the part where she basically used me as a booty call?" She said, passive-aggressively.

Bridgett didn't respond, taken back by that, while Jessica sighed. "Vanessa, don't start…"

Vanessa just kept her eye on Bridgett. "…I'm guessing at one point, you were a booty call for her too?"

"...What?" Bridgett responded, straight up shocked now.

"Vanessa." Jessica interrupted. "I told you before that I hadn't even slept with anyone before you, but now's not the time to be talking about our sex lives."

Daniel just rolled his eyes, sitting still, while Vanessa folded her arms.

Bridgett awkwardly gulped a bit and looked around, briefly locking eye contact with Jessica, before turning her attention to Daniel to get her mind off of that. "…You're Daniel?"

Daniel just stared up at her, silently.

"...You're the one that got us into this mess…?"

"Leave him, Eight." Jessica said, opening the laptop and starting it up.

Daniel continued to stare at her, almost in a creepy way, until Bridgett obliged and turned away, walking to the laptop.

Vanessa went up to the laptop as well. "…What are you doing?"

"We downloaded as much information as we could from Deangelo's Underdog base." Jessica replied. "It was all Bridgett's plan, but this should get us the information we need to find Ward."

"...Isn't downloading information from them before exactly what led to the Splatoon's collapse?"

"Yes." Bridgett joined in. "But we were prepared this time. We've already taken precautions since then and we're taking precautions now."

Jessica got the laptop booted up all the way, and then plugged the hard drive in, before pulling up all the information she could. Like last time, however, it was encrypted.

Bridgett noticed, but didn't look surprised. "…Give the laptop to me."

"...You can get past this?"

"I've learned some things from Marina, you know." She sat down. "…But I'm gonna need time."

She sighed, looking annoyed. "…Fine…"

Bridgett looked at her, giving her a reassuring look. "Hey."

Jessica looked back at her.

"This will be over before you know it. Ok?"

For a moment, they just looked at each other, getting that subtle feeling together, that maybe, just maybe, everything would be alright. Jessica just nodded before stepping away, and Bridgett got to work.

* * *

Hours passed, and it was soon nearing midnight for Inkopolis. Jessica, who felt cramped down in the bunker, had gone back up the elevator to go inside and get some fresh air, while Bridgett and Vanessa stayed down in the bunker as Bridgett worked on the laptop. Daniel had fallen asleep, his head drooped forward.

Vanessa was sitting nearby the computer. "…So… how long have you known Jessica?" She decided to ask Bridgett.

Bridgett looked at her. "…I've known her basically as long as I've been in Inkopolis. I met her down in the Deepsea Metro, the same day I escaped and got up here."

"...I've heard Jessica mention that…"

"Yeah, it was a crazy day for both of us… First time we met, she saved my life. But then… not long after that, I kind of… saw first-hand how scary she can be…"

"...What do you mean?"

She sighed, thinking back. "…Commander Tartar was able to partially sanitize her and swayed her under his will for a little while." She paused, as the memories weren't so pleasant. "…She tried to kill me."

She was a bit surprised. "...What stopped her?"

"I defeated her in self defense." She sighed. "She didn't wake back up until after the chaos had died down, and then she left back on her vigilante missions… I didn't really see her for another 6 months after that, since we weren't really friends at that point, and she was busy."

"And what makes you friends now?"

"...I got to know her."

"...I doubt you've really seen her dark side regardless. Because sometimes, I wonder if she's even really a good person."

"Oh, trust me, I've seen it. I think she's just… confused… Cuttlefish was always her moral compass since they met, and he's not really around anymore… she had no one to fall back on during all the time."

"...Right…" Vanessa sighed.

"...Thank you for that, by the way."

"For what?"

"For being there for her. I mean… I had already accepted her death before I found out the truth, and I had moved on to an extent, but… I'm still so relieved that she's back. You know? Besides, she might just still be our best chance at stopping the Underdogs for good."

"...Hm…"

"So… thank you." Bridgett repeated.

"...I can kind of see why Jessica likes you."

Bridgett looked at her. "…She's told you about me too?"

Vanessa nodded. "Yeah, she told me things. And nothing but good things, too."

Bridgett looked down, a bit flattered.

"...Are you sure you two were never romantically involved? Or at least interested?"

"What? Oh, god, no, I… no. No. I-I have a boyfriend." She replied awkwardly, blushing a bit.

"...I think Jessica always felt a lack of love, too, to be honest…" Vanessa continued. "…We had moments…"

"...G-Good to know…" Bridgett cleared her throat, looking down again.

"Hey, don't feel awkward about it. Everyone has their own sex life. We all need a little something, you know?"

"I-I'd rather not talk about that, alright?"

"...Hm… fine…"

At that moment, to Bridgett's relief, the laptop made a little _ping_ sound, and they both looked at it, seeing that the decryption process had finished. "Finally…" She muttered.

"It's done?"

"Yeah… but…" She looked it over. "…Exactly what I was afraid of, it wasn't a complete download, we pulled it out too early…"

"I thought we only needed the one thing."

"We do… and…" After some browsing, she managed to pull up intel on the central Underdogs base, where Hugh Ward was based. She sighed in relief. "…I found it…"

"...Well, I'll be damned… that place is probably armed like a fortress…"

"Probably…" She picked up the laptop. "Let's go tell Jess."

* * *

Jessica was sitting right outside the bunker entrance, on the hill above it, feeling the grass with her fingers as she stared at the city from a distance. Sitting in front of her, on the grass, was Daniel's Executioner mask, which she had gotten from him and brought up with her as she reflected. It was still a bit cracked from their previous confrontation at Vanessa's office.

A million thoughts were racing through her head. What exactly was she gonna do when she found Hugh Ward? Was that just gonna be it? Maybe at that point, after another possible talk with Daniel, maybe… that could just be it for her. She could just end her own life. That's all she had left, anyway. She felt like finishing off the Underdogs and her mission would have to be her big farewell. Granted, she probably wouldn't see Cuttlefish ever again, and honestly, that hurt to think about. But perhaps that didn't matter. And besides, at least she got to see Bridgett again.

Her attention went back to the Executioner mask sitting in front of her as she thought out how she was gonna go. She definitely wanted to go out with a bang, she knew that much. The concept of the Executioner was something that Jessica and Daniel played around with as kids, and ever since, she saw masks like this as a symbol to be feared. Perhaps as some kind of _memento mori._Apparently, Daniel felt the same way, and she imagined that was why he took on the mantle of the Executioner and chose this mask in the first place. She probably would've done the same, if she had fallen under the control of people like Ward. Besides, using this mask against the Underdogs would be some sweet irony, their own symbol turned against them.

She found herself reaching forward, rubbing her fingers over the mask a bit, before she heard the elevator ascend again behind her. Once it opened, Bridgett and Vanessa stepped out, walking up to her. "Jess." Bridgett said, still holding the laptop.

"You got it?" Jessica replied, not taking her eyes off the mask.

"We got it. Ward's location. The one thing we needed."

"...Good…" She picked up the mask and stood up.

Vanessa noticed. "…Is that Daniel's mask?"

"Why do you have that?" Bridgett asked as well.

"Don't worry about it." Jessica replied, walking up to them.

Bridgett set the laptop down on the grass. "Jess… I don't know what exactly you're planning on doing with the information, but I'm telling you now that I'm coming with you when we're ready to take on Ward. We can finish this together, as Splatoon agents. We just need a plan first, because I'm willing to bet that place is like a fortress."

"I'm flattered, but I'm telling _you_ now that there is no plan. Not one we need to discuss, anyway."

"...What do you mean?"

Jessica didn't respond.

Vanessa was starting to catch up to what her potential plan was. "…Jessica… why do you have that mask…?" She asked again.

"...I'm going alone."

"Like hell." Bridgett responded. "Jessica, we agreed before that we're in this together now, and you promised me you would be careful."

"There's nothing to be careful about anymore. There is no Splatoon. At this point, as far as I'm concerned, it comes down to me, them, and the shitty mistakes I made in the first place that led us here. I think I realize now, this is what life kept me alive for. If life could make the decision…"

Bridgett shook her head in disbelief. "…No, if anything, life kept you around so that you can come back to us. Not so that you can just settle a personal grudge you have."

"...Bridge… face it… I don't think I ever really came back after Daniel dumped me in that lake… not really…"

"...So then what are you going to do?"

She ignored her. "…If things goes sideways, I want you to get anyone from the Splatoon you can and get your asses out of the city. If I die before I can finish off Ward, chances are Inkopolis won't be around for long."

"What are you going to do!?" She responded, angrily.

She sighed. "I'm finishing what I started, alright!? And when I say I'm finishing it, I mean I'm _really_ finishing it. You're not gonna see me again."

Bridgett stared at her in disbelief. "…Your brother dumping you into that lake really did mess up your head, didn't it…?"

"That's what I've been saying."

She started tearing up. "…I'm not letting you go…"

"Too bad." She looked down at the laptop just to memorize the address, and then turned to leave. "It's been good, Bridgett. Take care of yourself."

"Dammit, I said I'm not letting you go!" Tears streaming down her face, Bridgett started to panic a bit as Jessica kept walking anyway, and she decided to act. Suddenly pulling out her Octo Shot, she ran up to her to hold her at gunpoint. "You're not leaving me again!"

Jessica sighed as she stopped walking. "Oh, for fucks sake…"

"Listen to her, Jess…" Vanessa added, standing next to Bridgett.

Jessica rose her arms into the air as if to surrender, and Bridgett started walking up to her.

"You're gonna talk to us… we're gonna make a plan… and we're gonna do this right… otherwise, I'm not letting it happen…" Bridgett continued. As soon as she got too close, however, Jessica suddenly grabbed her and forced her down to the ground, before taking her Octo Shot from her and taking it apart.

"...I've already said my goodbye, Bridgett…" She said, looking down at her. "Now do what I told you…"

Bridgett couldn't do much but look up at her, as she turned to walk away again, Executioner mask still in hand.

"Jess, dammit." This time, Vanessa was the one to stop her, grabbing her arm. "Don't do this…"

"Or what?"

"...Or else I'll kill Daniel… and you lose your brother too…"

"Well, you know what, I've seen from the look in your eye that you've been wanting to kill him anyway, and he killed plenty of people himself, including Mia, so go right the fuck ahead. You wanna surrender yourself down that path, fine." She forcefully pulled her own arm from her grasp, and continued walking.

Vanessa watched her leave, no longer trying to stop her. But, she did have one more question. "…Why are you taking the mask!?" She called after her. "What's it for!?"

"I'm going to give them my own message." Jessica replied, not stopping.

Vanessa watched as she eventually walked out of sight, thinking. Perhaps… Jessica was just the bad guy now. Perhaps she herself was going down that road, too...

Bridgett wasn't even watching anymore, and was just standing there, sobbing. The emotions were too much for her. Vanessa gave her a look, before heading back to the elevator with a sigh.

Bridgett looked around. What was she supposed to do now? Just return home? Do what Jessica told her? Not like there was much else for her to do.

She stood there for what felt like several minutes as she calmed down, and wiped her tears after, even if she was still teary-eyed. She looked back at the bunker elevator, scooped up her laptop, and then turned around, heading home with her arms crossed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Vanessa was thinking to herself on the way down the elevator. She couldn't use Jessica. Not anymore. Jessica and her, perhaps their relationship was just over. The way she saw it now, she only had person left to go to. Even if it was the last person she wanted.

When the elevator reached the bottom, she walked over, pulled a chair up in front of the still sleeping Daniel, before grabbing a knife and going to cut Daniel's bonds off. She then sat down in front of him, shaking him awake.

Daniel looked up at her and then around, confused. To his surprise, he could finally move, and he gratefully used his fingers to rub his sore arms a bit. He looked at her. "…You're letting me go…?"

"...Jessica's gone." Vanessa responded. "And she's not coming back."

"...Why?"

"Because she wants to get herself killed. I'm not going to try anymore to stop her."

"...Why are you freeing me?"

"Because, before… you made me an offer…"

He just stared at her, actually a bit surprised.

She leaned forward. "…So keep talking."


	22. Octo Valley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jessica prepares for her attack. Meanwhile, Ward and Ayesha recall Octo Valley.

The Executioner mask remained in Jessica's hand as she made her way outside of city limits, deep into some nearby woods. She hadn't even stolen a car or anything this time, she was straight up taking the multi-hour hike away from the city and into the woods, passing along all the trees.

Although she was barely tired, it was well after midnight by the time she reached her destination: a cabin in the middle of the woods, owned by none other that Captain Cuttlefish. She stopped to look at it. Of course, it had been pretty much abandoned following Cuttlefish's arrest, with all the lights and everything turned off, and she imagined the stuff inside was collecting lots of dust. No matter, it wasn't her intention to go inside. Instead, she made her way around the cabin, walking up to the nearby shed.

It was a medium-sized shed, but of course, was locked. She didn't have the key anymore, she had lost it back when her apartment was bombed, but again, it didn't matter. Pulling out her spear handle from her pocket, she popped it out and then used to suddenly slice the lock clean off, which caused the door to creak open on it's own. She retracted her spear and opened it all the way, stepping inside.

She looked around; it was filled with all sorts of former New Squidbeak Splatoon gear, that had been left here in practically the middle of nowhere for the sake of privacy. Hiding them all in this shed was the initial reason Cuttlefish bought the cabin, actually. Looking around, she could see weapons, armor sets, and other stuff for Agents 1, 2, 4, Cuttlefish, and herself. A lot of it was collecting dust. She sighed, feeling around some of her own stuff with her fingers. Spare Hero Shots, a spare Hero Suit she had never had to wear before, spare headsets, grapple hooks, and other equipment that all technically belonged to her.

Memories flooded back, but despite the fact they were there, that's not what she was here for. She didn't even take them, instead turning back and looking elsewhere. No, instead, she was here to make herself something rather new, something she had to assemble herself. Looking around in different drawers and shelves that were in the back of the shed, she was able to find various parts to assemble armors with. Pulling out everything she needed, as well as some black spray paint, she sat down at the table in the center with all her parts, where she got to work.

* * *

**Years Ago**

**Octo Valley**

Before all of this, there was a time when Jessica was much more… innocent, one could say. She was happy, she was bubbly, she did in fact smile quite a bit, and she very much enjoyed her new job as Agent 3 for the New Squidbeak Splatoon. All things considered, she was generally pretty happy at the time.

Today, wearing her Hero Suit, she had been going through the long struggle of obtaining and securing four Zapfishes in a row, and had just secured her eighth in total. Feeling pretty good about herself, she decided to take a break and took a seat nearby Cuttlefish's shack in the Valley, working on an update for her Hero Shot.

Cap'n Cuttlefish himself was standing in front of the shack, watching her. "…I've just gotta say, young lady, you are probably the most skilled of your age I have ever seen. You're only 14, correct?"

"Yes." Jessica replied, barely looking up from her weapon. "Fresh to the city, too."

He chuckled a little. "I don't believe it. I'm guessing you play turf war a lot, then?"

"Mhmm. Turf War, ranked, you name it, I've tried it."

"Very impressive." He smiled and sat down next to her, sighing as he rested his cane. "Really, I've never seen anything like it. The way you move, the way you aim… it's like you're a natural-born fighter."

She smiled a little. "I think it runs in the family."

"Well, out of all the Inklings in that Plaza I could've hired, I'm glad it was you."

"Thanks, old man. Glad to be here. Honestly, I was getting bored with Turf War stuff, anyway… this is much more of a thrill ride."

"Just remember that we're not just here for the thrills. We're here for the important cause."

"I know, I know."

"Anyway, as soon as our break is done, I have our next Zapfish location. And to my own surprise, it's actually up here on the surface."

"Really? Where?"

"The Kelp Dome. From my understanding, some Octarians set up an establishment there today while it's closed. I don't know what for. But we traced the next Zapfish to there."

"That… kind of sounds like a trap."

"Oh, maybe. But given that it _is_ up here on the surface, I doubt they want to create too much noise for the time being. Should be simple. Just go in, splat who you need to, grab the Zapfish, and get out."

"You got it." She clicked her weapon shut and stood up. "Say the word, and I'll be there."

He smiled up at her. "You certainly have a spark inside you, Agent 3. Keep that for as long as you can."

"I intend to." She grinned back.

"Just remember to be careful."

"I will be."

"Alright then. You can head out."

The grin still on her face, and with her Hero Shot in hand, Jessica headed off through the Valley, to find the appropriate Kettle.

* * *

**Present Day**

**Underdogs Base**

Hugh Ward was in his office, staring up at his monitors as usual, a somber look in his eyes. This time, the monitors were playing as many different news stations as possible, to see if there was any news on the vigilantes and their whereabouts. There wasn't. In fact, outside of the news of the highway shootout, which the public had no information about (they had chopped it down to a simple gang shootout), it was a slow news day. Currently, he had no information on where Agents 3 and 8 could've gone. He didn't even know where to look for Daniel. And given what the vigilantes had presumably escaped with… for once, it seemed that the Underdogs and himself were vulnerable. That was never in the plan, but he had to live with it now.

Soon, his guard entered, interrupting his thoughts. "Ward. Ayesha's here."

"Let her in." He replied simply.

He nodded and left again, before Ayesha entered a moment later. He turned to her, and they stared at each other for a moment, in silence. He could see that Ayesha actually looked pretty banged up.

"...We're in our own endgame now, Ayesha." He eventually spoke.

"...I know…" She replied.

He stood up. "…And need I even mention… that it was because of your failure to contain them?"

"You don't have to mention anything, babe… I'm the one who was there, not you." She gave him an almost sinister glare. "…And we have to assume that they got the information they needed."

"Yes… we have to… and if they did… this could be our last chapter."

"Last chapters are always a party. But I'm… I'm sorry that I failed you…"

"...Perhaps failure isn't what we should focus on now." He put his arms behind him and turned back to his monitors. "…This was never about winning or losing. This was about sending our message."

"We won't be able to send our message if Agent 3 takes us down."

"...Our message will still be in action even if we're not around. Inklings aren't too different from us. They can tear each other apart, just like our own race does to ourselves beneath the ground. They've unleashed chaos upon themselves just from the mere thought of Agent 3 being alive. And even if he's no longer our ally… we still unleashed a loose cannon at the city." He turned his head to one monitor where it had images of Jessica and Daniel, and he eyed Daniel's face specifically.

Ayesha stared at him from behind. "…Ward… if you're willing to give us up that easily… what was the point of the Underdogs?"

"...Do you not remember what happened in Octo Valley?" He replied, his gaze dropping a bit.

She fell silent for a moment. "…I remember…"

"...The New Squidbeak Splatoon came at us with their own message. They showed us how indifferent from us the Inklings truly are. They're emotional animals. They're murderers. They forced us underground 100 years ago and they took control of the surface world." He turned back to her. "…I just didn't see the full extent of their hypocrisy _until _Octo Valley…"

Ayesha's gaze went down, memories coming in.

* * *

**Years Ago**

**The Domes Beneath Octo Valley**

Ayesha, of course, was younger back in her soldier days, but she wasn't such a peaceful individual. She was stationed in an all-female Octoling defense team, and the group was currently preparing for their next mission in a gray-looking Octarian meeting room. The Octolings all around her were preparing their guns as they waited for their commander, while she was instead sharpening and preparing knives.

"Are you allowed to have knives here?" A fellow soldier asked, walking up to her. "Those aren't Octarian-issued weapons."

"I'm allowed whatever weapon I so desire, hun… the commander gave me the permission I need." She slid it off of the knife sharperner with a _shing_ sound, before holding it up and admiring it. "I prefer knives to guns anyway… you know why?"

She gave a frustrated look as if she didn't want the conversation to continue, but continued anyway. "…Why?"

"Guns are practically useless. Especially these boy toys that we have here. You know what our guns do? They splat people. It's not lethal. You leave them as a puddle of ink and they reform and wake up later."

"...Guns aren't 'boys toys'. They're useful weapons. What gave you that impression, anyway?"

"Sure, guns can be useful if you use them correctly. But why use a gun from a distance and risk missing your target when you can just close that distance and use your baby on them? You puncture their skin, slide the metal and cut their insides, do whatever the fuck you want with them, and watch them bleed out helplessly in front of you until the life leaves their eyes. You can't miss with a knife. You just make em' hurt with it." She flipped it into the air before she caught it again.

The Octoling stared at the knife, and then at her. "…Or maybe you're just some kind of serial killer."

"I _am_ a serial killer, babe… just don't tell that to Octavio." She gave a creepy giggle. "…I haven't seen you around. Who are you?"

"...Camila Ward. I'm the daughter of Commander Ward."

"Old man's bitch, I like it. I'm Ayesha."

"I know who you are. A lot of the girls here talk about you. I think they're afraid of you."

"...But do you fear me?"

"Well, now that I got a closer look, you seem to just be some kind of creep."

She chuckled. "Well, perhaps, but I'm sure there's more to me that counts." She continued sharpening her knife.

Their conversation was interrupted before Camila could say anything else, as Commander Ward himself entered the room. "Attention." He called out, prompting every Octoling there to drop what they were doing and line up in front of him.

Ward stood in front of all of them, looking them all over. "By now, I'm sure you understand our current situation. It could prove to be the most important event in recent Octarian history, and our greatest achievement if we succeed. While Octavio's stealth team has recently managed to steal a collection of Zapfish from the Inkling menace, his mission is far from complete. Now, he has tasked our team with not only defending those Zapfish from being taken back, but to take down our recent pursuers: Captain Cuttlefish and his New Squidbeak Splatoon. Yet, while Agent 3 has already infiltrated our domes, Octavio wants to avoid having to deploy any more Great Octoweapons. That's where our team comes in. So… under the idea of my beautiful daughter, Camila…" He pointed at her, and she smiled back. "…we're bringing the fight up to the surface. I've already managed to secure the Kelp Dome location within Inkopolis, and we will be holding an ambush mission there. We'll hold the Zapfish there, draw Agent 3 in, and take her down. Keep in mind, however, that our current mission is to splat her, not kill her. After we have her, we may need her to get to Cuttlefish next."

"You can count on us, father." Camila responded.

"Yes. I can." He nodded. "Once this is over, we will all finally have the resources to take over the surface again, even if it means another war. But war is what we've prepared for, and I have faith that we will restore our race to our rightful place. With your help."

"We'll do it single-handedly, babe." Ayesha replied.

"I figured you would say something like that, Ayesha. I trust that you're prepared?"

"You know it~" She pulled out a knife to show him.

"Your methods are certainly reliable, I'll give you that. But don't forget that our mission is to splat her. Not kill her. At least for now."

"Hm…" She rubbed her food against the ground in an almost innocent-like way. "…As long as I get to kill her after we have all that we need."

"...Fine. Not like I'll be able to convince you otherwise."

Ayesha couldn't help but giggle in response to that.

Ward sighed and ignored her."Alright, girls. Suit up and start heading up to the surface. I've already ensured that security will let you out. Good luck."

"Yes, sir." The Octolings (sans Ayesha) said in unison as most of them went to finish preparing their weapons. Camila, however, instead went up to her father.

"...I'm proud of you, Camila." Ward told her.

"I know."

"But, for now, I want you to be focused on the mission. Don't let your sentiment get in the way."

"...I understand."

He moved his finger over and gently caressed her cheek, before pulling her forward and kissing her forehead. She smiled at him. They then looked over to see that the other Octarians were about ready, and Ayesha walked by, winking at Camila.

Ward let go. "Now. Go join your sisters."

"Yes, father." She nodded, before going to follow.

Once all the Octolings were lined up at the door, he walked over and pressed a button on the wall, and the lights in the room turned red as a brief alarm sounded. A hissing sound could then be heard as some gas flooded out from a pipe in the corner of the room, and the door opened. They all walked out, one by one, with their weapons in hand, as they started their trek up to the surface. Ward stood by the door, watching.

* * *

**Later**

**The Kelp Dome**

A yellow glow, accompanied by the sound of electricity, lightly illuminated the area around it as the Zapfish struggled within its constraints, held down by an electric force field. Octolings were standing guard, stationed all around the otherwise currently empty dome, where the dawn sky could be seen through the windows.

Ayesha was next to Camila, sharpening and admiring her own knives again, mostly in silence. After a moment, Camila turned to her. "…Father said we're not supposed to kill her."

"I'm not going to." Ayesha responded, casually turning toward him. "...What's his story, anyway?"

"Who's?"

"Commander Ward's, genius."

She sighed, taking off her Octarian goggles. "…He was a loyal consultant to Lord Octavio for years, until he got promoted to Commander. Not much to say, really."

"...And what about you? Why haven't I seen you around?"

"...I've been trying to become a soldier for years. I trained, under his watch, 40 hours a week. It wasn't until recently that my father deemed me worthy to join you."

She chuckled a bit. "That's nothing. I train 50 hours a week. No breaks. I push myself until I can feel the pain, and I keep going until that pain is the only thing I can think about. Pain is our most important feeling, and you have to embrace it. You're a pissy shit, otherwise."

She stared at her, a bit irritated. "…I know pain. My father does, too. Maybe you should learn to not judge someone by their cover."

"How else do you judge someone?"

"Not like that."

"Hey." She suddenly pulled her close. "Just because I, as you say, judge you by your cover, doesn't mean I don't see good in you. I have a pretty good track record of figuring people out with glances, and I see a fighter within you."

She blushed a little. "…W-Well, I-I still don't think it's a good idea…"

"Well, it's worked out well for me. It helps me know who I should keep around and who I shouldn't."

"...And you think I'm worth keeping around?"

"Sure feels like it." She suddenly squeezed her rear, and she gasped a little in surprise. She giggled at the reaction. "You're sensitive, too."

Camila shoved her off. "Don't touch me like that again."

"Hm… fine, but only for now. I'll sway you to my side eventually."

Before Camila could respond, a small alarm went off throughout the dome, and they looked around.

Another Octoling turned to them. "Agent 3 is here."

"See, I always get a party." Ayesha replied, cocking her gun and getting into position.

Camila glanced at her before she cocked her gun as well and got ready. They both slipped their goggles on.

* * *

At that moment, an explosion of blue ink burst over the domes' spawn point as Agent 3, Jessica herself, was spawned in. She had turned her hair blue for the mission, and was still wearing her Hero Outfit. She looked over the area. At first glance, the area seemed to be abandoned.

_"The Zapfish is back there." _Cuttlefish spoke to her over the com system.

"I'm on my way." Hero Shot in hand, she leaped down from the starting platform onto the floor, and immediately took a defensive position, pointing her weapon in front of her as she cautiously made her way through the stage. She was fairly familiar with it thanks to her time in Turf War, but something was different: a line of power eggs, lined in such a way that they were seemingly leading her somewhere. "…I'm 99% sure that this is a trap."

_"Keep your head about you and stay alert. You'll be able to see anyone coming."_

She nodded and kept moving forward, looking in all directions. The area was mostly silent, and she wasn't even following the obvious power egg trail, but she definitely felt like someone was watching her.

Indeed, standing on the platforms over the stage, were the Octoling team, ready to attack. They gripped their weapons eagerly. Unfortunately for them, however, Cuttlefish was able to spot them first through Jessica's camera.

_"We've got company, bucko. Octolings ahead."_

"Octowha-?" She was interrupted as multiple Octolings suddenly jumped down at her, firing their ink at her. Caught off guard, she swore and ducked out of the way, taking cover behind a wall. "Are these guys new!?"

_"For you, yes. Like I just said, they're Octolings, they're the Octarian equivalent to us. These scalleywags can turn into octopuses and swim in ink too."_

"We have her." One Octoling told the others as they started slowly approaching her hiding spot.

Jessica, now surrounded, looked around, actually a bit scared. "…Ok, so, this should be just like Turf War, right?"

_"Not quite. Unlike the average Inkling teenager, these guys are trained and their sights are set on you. But knowing you, I know you can find a way out of this. You've overcome every single obstacle so far, Agent 3."_

She nodded and took a deep breath. "You're right…"

_"Just be careful, now."_

With the Octolings still approaching, she took more deep breaths and cocked her gun. "I'm invulnerable… I'm the one… the only… Agent 3…"

_"...I-I wouldn't call you inv-" _Cuttlefish tried to say, but he was interrupted as Jessica suddenly turned the corner, and fired at the Octolings with surprisingly great precision, splatting them both.

"Holy… we have women down! Women down!" Another Octoling updated to their radio system. "Watch her accuracy!"

In response to this, the Octoling team started getting more aggressive, and the closer Octolings began closing in on the Agent. Jessica continued inching forward, not letting her guard down one bit, again looking in all directions.

"Get her!" Ayesha barked into the Octarian's radio.

Taking advantage of the dome's tight corners, Octolings started to jump after her, either from around those corners or from behind her, and each one thought for a moment that they had her. However, Jessica's reflexes and accuracy were too great, and one by one, Jessica dodged and splatted each one on sight, before carefully moving on. She even picked up a backup helmet along the way.

Camila began to grow nervous as she watched from her station. "…Holy shit…"

"Ok, so, Agent 3 is good. No biggie." Ayesha told her before she turned on her radio again. "Started splashing her ink before I start splashing yours!"

An Octoling managed to jump onto Jessica, attempting to wrestle with her, and Jessica cried out as she was quickly overwhelmed. She crashed into a wall, disarming both of them as she tried to shake her off, but was forced to grab her Hero Shot again in order to splat her off. She groaned in pain, having to take off her helmet, as another Octoling charged at her. Angrily, Jessica suddenly grabbed her as soon as she got close and shoved her against the wall, bringing the Hero Shot to her face and shooting her a few times with a war cry, successfully splatting her like all the Octolings before her.

Cuttlefish just silently watched the situation unfold, a bit surprised by the violence. Jessica continued inching her way through the dome, continuing to shoot down anyone who dared cross her path. Soon enough, there wasn't too many Octolings left, and she was nearing the Zapfish.

"...What do we do?" Camila asked.

"...I'll handle it." Holding her weapon, Ayesha stepped down from her station, making her way to Jessica.

Soon, the Zapfish was right in Jessica's field of view, and she grinned. "Target spotted."

_"Careful, young lady." _Cuttlefish reminded her.

Despite the warning, Jessica lowered her guard a bit. "Doesn't look like anyone's home." She remarked as she started heading straight up the Zapfish, and was soon standing right in front of the shield. She shot at it a few times, and it quickly smashed open. Her usual smile spread on her face. "Zapfish acquired. I'm heading b-" Before she should grab it, a barrage of ink suddenly struck her back, breaking her armor. Grunting in surprise, she immediately turned around to see Ayesha, who fired at her again. She dodged and took cover.

_"Are you alright?" _Cuttlefish asked.

Jessica nodded, taking a breather. "…I-I'm fine…"

_"...She's approaching again!"_

With a scream, Ayesha suddenly leapt at her and attempted to attack her with her fists. Jessica just barely dodged and attempted to fight back, but wasn't too skilled with it yet, and gasped as Ayesha was able to kick her Hero Shot right out of her hands. She looked at her, seeing that Ayesha had dropped her own weapon.

"Unarmed, young, and tasty-looking…" Ayesha licked her lips. "Hiring little kids is just the Cap'n's thing, huh?"

"Call me little again, creep." Jessica replied.

"Why, you want a little of this?" She made a smooching noise with her lips, and Jessica suddenly turned around in an effort to reclaim her weapon. "Nuh-uh!" She kicked her down, before standing over her. "It's time for us to fight like girls."

Jessica, not quite sure what to do, kicked her and then started desperately crawling to her weapon, only for Ayesha to pick her up and pin her against the wall.

_"Remember the tips I showed you. You can get out of this." _Cuttlefish assured her.

Hearing that, Jessica suddenly kicked her as hard as she could in the groin, successfully getting her to back off. Ayesha grunted. "Bitch!"

Instead of responding, Jessica suddenly punched her in the stomach to stun her for longer, and then managed to do a bit of a roll, even if not a professional one, to reach her weapon again.

_"Nice!" _Cuttlefish cheered.

Jessica then fired at Ayesha, forcing her to take cover now, as Camila attacked as well. She gasped slightly and dodged her gunfire, before managing to land some ink right on Ayesha, finally splatting her.

"RAAAH!" Camila yelled as she attacked Jessica head-on, successfully disarming her again. Camila was even more aggressive than Ayesha was, surprisingly, and pinned her down on the ground, punching her in the face. She crawled on top of her, prepared to splat her. "I promised my father I'd make him proud…"

Jessica desperately swatted her, and disarmed her as well. She was angrily gritting her teeth now, and her nose was bleeding. "I promised mine, too…"

Camila growled at her, and reached to grab her weapon, but Jessica was too pissed at this point to let that happen. She wanted something to hit. Without warning, she punched her in the jaw, before attempting to wrestle with her for control. They were both pretty determined at the moment, but all it took Jessica was a jab straight to her chest to overpower her, and she flipped them over, crawling on top.

_"Easy, young lady." _Cuttlefish cautioned.

But Jessica wasn't listening. There was a deep anger in her that was coming out right now, almost like her brother. As Camila stared up at her in fear, she punched her multiple times, as hard as she could, until she was unconscious. Even then, she still didn't stop. She kept going, until Camila's face was starting to swell and her ink was starting to coat her fists.

_"...Agent 3!" _Cuttlefish stopped her.

She finally stopped, panting, her fist still in the air as she stared down at her defeated enemy.

_"Get off of her! She's already defeated!"_

After falling silent for a moment, Jessica crawled off of her and stood up, still staring down at her.

_"...Never, ever, do that unless it's necessary. You only need to splat them." _Cuttlefish continued.

"...Understood… I'm… I'm sorry…" She sighed, going to pick her weapon back up.

But Cuttlefish couldn't stay mad for long. He was too forgiving. After all, he had done questionable things as well back in the day, even if it was in the name of freedom. _"…Are you alright, young lady?"_

"...Perfectly fine." Looking down at Camila one last time, she turned back to the Zapfish cage, before she fired at it to smash it open. Before the shield could reform, she reached in and pulled the Zapfish out.

* * *

**Later**

The Octolings all soon returned to the domes after they all reformed, and they sat in the same meeting room that they had met in before. They were fairly exhausted, partially due to being splatted, and Ayesha's eyes were still blurry as she recovered. No one in the room was at 100% quite yet.

Soon, to some of their fear, Commander Ward stepped back in, looking around at everyone. "…Mission report."

The room remained silent.

"...Mission report, now."

"...She got the Zapfish…" Ayesha finally broke the silence.

A deep sigh escaped his mouth as he closed his eyes in frustration, rubbing his forehead. "…Octavio's not going to be happy with you."

"I'm not even happy with myself… there's, uh… something else…"

"What?" He looked at her.

Reluctantly, she motioned over to Camila, who was deeply unconscious on a table in the corner. Her face was pretty badly swollen, and there was dried ink on her face. Silently, he walked over to get a closer look.

"...I'm sorry, Commander…" Ayesha told him.

He checked her pulse. She was still alive, but didn't seem to be in a great condition. Anger slowly filled his otherwise emotionless face. "…Who did this…?"

"...Who do you think?"

* * *

**Present Day**

"...I never told you this… but the night that Camila did finally pass away, I talked with her. She was just determined to take down the Inkling menace as we are today." Ward finished. "Agent 3 ruined her life and ultimately took it in the end. All because she has that violence and anger inside of her."

"...You want to show them pain… like what we felt…"Ayesha replied.

"And you know pain better than anyone, Ayesha…" He brought a finger up to her hair, gently caressing it along with her cheek. "You know that things will work out for us… in the end… Inklings will tear themselves apart…"

"...Yes… perhaps they will…"

He then pulled her forward lightly, pressing his lips against her forehead for a moment before they broke apart.

Ayesha looked up at him. "…What will we do now, then?"

"...We'll let Agent 3 to come to us."

"That's really your idea of our endgame?"

"Well… either we'll kill her and put this matter to bed… or else she'll show us her true self. We'll get to see her hypocrisy."

"And she'll know pain…" She grinned a little.

He nodded. "It was only a matter of time. After all, she's a Murdock. She has the same fire in her as her brother."

* * *

Indeed, Jessica had the same violence inside her that Daniel did. At that moment, she was finishing up her work at Cuttlefish's shed, and had just finished equipping herself and fitting herself into a full, black body armor, from neck to toe. It gave her a masculine look, but that was what she had wanted; she wanted to march up to the Underdogs as her own terrifying icon. Or, at least, he was going to use the Underdog's icon against them.

To complete the look as she headed out, with her spear as her only weapon, she slipped on the Executioner mask, and began her trek straight to the Underdogs' hideout.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I know it's been a little while... again. I apologize for not updating as much as I should, but lately I have actually been having computer problems that have hindered my productivity. My keyboard has stopped working lately and, even though it's just a few keys that died out, it's very crippling when it comes to writing, so I've had to borrow a separate laptop and constantly swap files between them through a hard drive in order to keep writing. Aside from that, I think we can all agree this year has been unbelievably crazy in general, and it's easy to lose motivation in times like this. Regardless, I hope you're all doing well, I'll be trying to write more and get chapters up more frequently, and I'll see you next time. *waves*


	23. The Executioner

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Donning the Executioner armor, Jessica finally takes on Ayesha and Ward in a culminating confrontation.

A gentle tremor shook the apartment room as a train passed by, an accompanying honk sounding as moonlight shined in through the window. It was late, but Grant Johnson was still up, sitting on his bed as he tended to the many bruises that remained on his body. Overall, he still hurt like hell.

A picture of his now deceased partner sat on his night stand right there by his legs, barely visible in the moonlight. It sat right next to a picture of his mom, who was also long deceased. Right next to that, was a picture of his girlfriend. Ex-girlfriend, at least. He found himself staring at these a lot, especially recently, but they rarely even helped when they did. They hurt to look at, actually. Shakily, he reached over and grabbed a whiskey bottle from the same night stand, and brought it to his mouth, chugging it a bit before he broke off and groaned.

With his shakiness only eased somewhat, he then reached to slowly put on his night shirt, not wanting to hurt his bruises more than they already hurt. He grunted a bit in pain as he did, before he eased himself down on the bed, snuggling up against his own pillows. He fully intended on relaxing and getting some shut-eye, but unfortunately for him, someone had other plans. Not long after he closed his eyes for the night, his phone went off, buzzing a little as a _'kaching' _sound played.

He sighed as he slowly grabbed it, before he turned it on and held it away from his face to give himself a moment to adjust to the light. As soon as his eyes did focus, he tapped the text that was sent to him. It was from a private number.

** PRIVATE NUMBER: ** ** Still want to stop to the Underdogs?**

Johnson sat up, in anticipation of whatever this person was talking about. The person on the other end kept typing for a bit, before an address popped up on screen.

** PRIVATE NUMBER: ** ** They're all here. Bring as much backup as you can.**

** PRIVATE NUMBER: ** ** And in case you think this is a trap**

The number then sent a selfie, confirming her own identity. It was none other than Jessica, with her Executioner armor barely visible in the frame.

** PRIVATE NUMBER: ** ** I'll be there too.**

** PRIVATE NUMBER: ** ** Don't be late.**

Johnson stared at the screen as this unfolded, his breath getting heavy. He suddenly opened up the keyboard and desperately tried to send a text back, but at this point, Jessica had already blocked the number.

Just a week ago, Johnson would've thought this was a trap regardless, because he definitely thought Jessica was the enemy, possibly even allied with the Underdogs. But after what he saw in his last confrontation with her… he knew he didn't have all the answers yet. And this might've just been the opportunity to learn more. He shot up out of bed, going to get his work clothes.

* * *

**Several Minutes Later**

**Inkopolis Police Station**

Johnson speedily opened the door and entered, now in his Detective outfit, as he raced inside, looking for the highest ranking officer there. The station was currently on night shift, so not everyone was there, but he quickly found who he was looking for regardless.

"Detective?" An older Inkling stopped as he passed by, turning to him.

Johnson turned to him. "Captain Hertz?"

"What are you doing out of bed?"

"What are _you_ doing in the night shift?"

"Well, someone's had to work extra hours with all the insanity that's been upturning the city lately." He walked up to him. "You're supposed to be treating your injuries. You're not at your 100% right now, Johnson, I can tell just by looking at you."

"My injuries can wait, something much more pressing just came up."

"Like what? Squidmas?"

"I just got a significant lead on the Underdogs case, _and_ the Agent 3 case."

The room fell a bit extra silent as everyone who was nearby heard that, they all turned to look at him. Hertz noticed, and awkwardly chuckled. "Back to work, folks."

"...I'm not making this up, Captain. These people cost me my partner and my livelihood. They shot up that work building, that bank, that strip club. We know they're real." Johnson continued.

Hertz looked around, before pulling him out of the room, so that they could talk in privacy. As soon as they were alone, he sighed. "…Detective, do you know how much money and wasted time this case has cost this police department?"

"...Yes, sir. I'm well aware."

"And are you also aware that it was your own failure that kept this from being quiet? Now the whole public hates us and no one trusts us."

"This is more than just public opinion. I know, I _know_ that there's a larger terrorist plot here. And I believe that Jessica Murdock might… _might_ just be against them as well."

"Yeah? With what proof?"

At that, Johnson decided to finally pull out his phone and show him the texts.

Hertz stared at it, for a good moment, before he spoke again. "…The old Johnson would've recognized that this is clearly a trap."

"Well, I'm not the old Johnson anymore. People change. Opinions change."

He paused for another moment, thinking it over. "…If you wanna scramble a small team and try and catch melted butter, then be my guest. But I'm gonna make it clear right now that if you screw up one more time, or if we lose more of our own… you're out."

"...Understood, sir…"

"...I've trusted you for years, Detective. Don't let me down again." He walked away.

"...Yes, sir…" Johnson said quietly, as if he was still there. He looked around, before he went to assemble his team as instructed.

* * *

**Underdogs Hideout**

It was deep into the night as Ward slept in the room next to his office. It was a mostly empty room, and only had a bed with pictures of Camila as decoration. The room was kind of creepy-looking, as a result, but Ward never cared. In fact, he was sleeping peacefully, for the most part, entering dreams about his long-lost daughter. Ayesha, who felt like a second daughter to him, frequently appeared in his dreams as well. Daniel did as well, but only occasionally.

Tonight, however, his dreams were interrupted fairly quickly as every light in the base turned red, and an alarm blared every few seconds. His eyes shot open. It was an intruder alert, and the base was currently in the process of locking down. And he had an idea of what the alert was for.

Shooting out of bed, he ran to his office and looked at the monitors, using his computer to turn a couple of them to the outdoor security feeds. Right outside, was the Executioner, the mask right in the camera, as if staring at him. At first, he thought it was Daniel, but then again, given the circumstances… She didn't even seem to be armed.

"...Agent 3…" He growled. He turned and pressed a button on his computer. "Reverse the lockdown."

_"Sir? …Can you clarify?" _A confused, female Octoling spoke back.

"You heard me, reverse the lockdown! It's Agent 3. Let her in, but restrain her first. And, Ayesha?"

Static could be heard as Ayesha came online, also having been woken up. _"Yes, babe?"_

"...You have my permission to torture and kill her once she's inside."

_"With pleasure." _Her line immediately went dead.

Ward turned all of his monitors to security feeds throughout the base, went to get a change of clothes, and then sat to watch.

* * *

Ayesha was still half naked when she came out into the hallway, getting dressed into her armor as she made her way in the direction of the entrance. She tightened her finger-less gloves on her hands and fixed up her hair a bit, and she already had multiple knives on her belt. When she arrived by the entrance, there were already multiple Octolings lined up with guns, waiting for the intruder.

"Well, good morning, girls." She casually stepped in front of the line, pulling out two knives and flipping them in her hand. "Boys, too."

"Ayesha." One of them replied respectfully.

"...Hope you're all ready for a show." She grinned.

It wasn't long before the doors slid open, and two guards came in, holding the Executioner, with cuffs on her hands. They kicked her legs, forcing her down to her knees, without letting her go. The armor she was wearing hid any signs that she was feminine at all.

Ayesha twirled a knife in her hands, standing before her. "…Well, Jessie, I wasn't sure you'd just show up here this fast. You suicidal?"

_"...About as dead as you're going to be." _Even her voice sounded masculine thanks to the voice changer.

She giggled. "How threatening of you, I like it." She got up closer, kneeling to get face-to-face with the mask. "You're cute in that mask, you know that?"

_"Take it off, and I'll be cuter for you."_

"Oh, in a minute, babe, I will. I'm just… so busy, fantasizing about all the ways I could torture you right now… I can't go for the neck too soon, you'd lose too much ink too fast that way, and then you're dead before I can even chop your limbs off. Can't go for the chest either, because your hearts or lungs would fail. Don't get me wrong, I do want them to fail, but I want it to be from pure shock, not direct trauma… torture isn't always easy… But, see, in my world, I like _pain… _I want you to feel what I feel."

_"...You think that just because I came quietly, I'll be your toy?"_

"Well, you came, didn't you? I know how badly you want some of this." She said seductively, holding up her knife. "…I just don't like that you brought the mask. I intend on looking into your eyes. A _lot_."

_"I won't be looking back."_

"Oh, you will, babe… people always do." She held the knife up to her mask. "…Say, by the way, where's, um… Danny boy, anyway? I mean, that's not actually you under the mask, is it? That would be awkward. I have different plans for him."

_"You won't ever see him again."_

"Aw, don't be a party pooper, Agent 3. You and Danny share fate, after all. You're both Murdocks. And, admittedly, you're both dumb. So, come on. Where is he?"

The Executioner remained silent.

"...Come on! Where!?" She pressed the knife up to the mask. "Where is he? Where's my toy?"

When they fell into silence for a moment, Ayesha groaned.

"...I hope you're excited to see your stupid parents…" She reached up to finally pull off her mask. "Because you're out to see them ag-" She was interrupted as the nanotech spear suddenly formed itself from the Executioner's hand, and cut Ayesha's hand clean off in a swift motion. She screamed and backed off, her hand falling to the ground like a discarded glove, as ink poured out of her arm.

The other Octolings opened fire on Jessica, but failed to get past her armor, as she used the spear to slice the cuffs and then the two guards next to her. She stabbed one of them in the stomach, before turning and swiftly decapitating the other. The Octoling's head flew off, and ink spewed out of her neck like a fountain as the rest of her body collapsed to the ground like a ragdoll.

The other guard, still alive, collapsed by the wall as she held her bleeding stomach, before Jessica decided to put her out of her misery, turning the spear back on her to stab her in the eye. She, too, collapsed after she pulled it back out, splattering her ink on the walls.

The rest of the Octolings tried to take her on, but were unable to do much as Jessica suddenly used her squid form to duck into a vent.

One Octoling tried to use his squid form to follow her in, but was splatted by a sudden explosion from some kind of bomb Jessica had left when she crawled in. The explosion, although ink-based, was enough to get the nearby Octolings as well, knocking Ayesha down.

"She's loose!" Ayesha screamed into the com system, still holding her arm. "She's in the vents!"

* * *

A few minutes passed and the base was again placed on lockdown, and every single guard in the building was now on high alert, while Ward had locked himself in his office. There was no vent that led directly to Ward's office nor bedroom, which was an intentional choice, but regardless, Jessica could've still been anywhere in the whole base. Some of the Octolings were actually quite terrified, but stood their ground. Ayesha, meanwhile, had covered up her arm with a rag to slow the bleeding, and was leaning on a wall.

An Octoling turned to her, without lowering her weapon. "...Ma'am, I really think you should sit d-"

"SHUT UP!" She snapped at her, still gritting her teeth in agony. "…Kill the girl… then worry about me…"

She just nodded. It had gone eerily long without a sign of Jessica, and everyone was getting more and more tense, but soon, they suddenly heard fleeing footsteps down one of the empty hallways. They all turned their weapons in that direction, slowly making their way down, before they heard the same footsteps in another direction. And then another direction. And yet another. Most of them were sweating, gripping their weapons tightly.

"...How…?" Someone asked, turning his weapon is all sorts of directions.

"...Where the fuck is she…?"

Ayesha, of course, was the most pissed out of them all. "…WHERE ARE YOU!?" She suddenly screamed.

And then, just as suddenly as the sounds appeared, the area went dead silent. They tensed up further, having no idea where she really was. Then, things only got worse for them, as not long after that, all the lights in the base suddenly shut down, forcing them into darkness. This even impacted Ward's office, shutting down all of his monitors.

They all turned the flashlights on their weapons on. Ayesha was still holding her arm, ink soaking through the rag, as she tried her best to stay upright and strong. Despite her efforts, her breathing was getting heavier, and she looked more and more on the verge of passing out.

An Octoling turned her flashlight on her. "…Ayesha, I really think you shou-" She was interrupted as Ayesha suddenly threw a knife at her throat with perfect accuracy, and she gagged.

"I told you to shut up…" Ayesha grabbed her arm again.

She tried to pull the knife out, but became too weak before she could, and collapsed to the ground. The rest of the Underdogs in the room didn't even dare speak up on the act, not wanting the same fate.

"...Why isn't the backup power coming on?" She hissed. "Someone check the generator!"

"S-Sorry, ma'am…" One girl went to leave and do so. The Octolings stayed in their defensive position until, finally, the power came back on, even if the lights were dimmer than usual. She returned a moment later, but with something… gruesome, in her hand. "Ma'am… this was in the break room…"

"What?" The other Octolings turned to her, and were met with the horrid smell of a decapitated head, ink pouring down from its neck as she held it from the hair. Some of them groaned in disgust.

"...I couldn't even find a body…" She admitted.

As Ayesha stared at it, it didn't take her long to see that there was something off. "…What is that?"

As the head slowly turned in her grasp, they could see some kind of small disc that someone had attached to the back of the head. And the realization of what it was hit Ayesha suddenly.

"SON OF A B-" She backed off, just as a light on the disc turned red, before a fiery explosion engulfed the room. The Octoling that was holding it was incinerated, some of the unfortunate closer Octolings were quickly killed by the explosion, and everyone else was knocked away down the different hallways, left extremely stunned even has the explosion melted to nothing but smoke.

And that was it. In an instant, everyone in the area was either taken out of commission, or stunned and separated, and that was exactly what Jessica needed. Still in her full Executioner armor, she stepped out from the shadows, spawning her spear before she stabbed a defenseless Octoling through the face, tossing her body aside.

The Octolings closest to her barely knew what was happening, but did catch on that she had arrived, and stood up to their best ability to shoot at her, screaming. Jessica quickly apprehended one, slicing her weapon in half and then her throat, before she turned to a second Octoling, slicing her arm off. She screamed in pain, and then gagged as Jessica moved the spear to stab her through the throat.

As this happened, a third Octoling attacked her from behind, screaming at her as she shot loads of ink right into her back. Again, it didn't breach the armor, but the direct force was enough to knock her down a bit. In retaliation, she turned around and ruthlessly stabbed her right through the brain before she could do anything else, pinning her to the wall.

As other Octolings made it to the scene, they quickly saw that fighting Jessica up close seemed hopeless; instead, they opted to fire at her from a distance. But not even they were safe. The Executioner pulled out the spear, took only a second to aim, and threw her weapon at the ceiling _above_ the Octolings, shattering a light and raining down a wall of sparks above both of them at once. They screamed out in pain and collapsed, but before Jessica could make her way over to them and reclaim her weapon, more Octolings attacked her from behind.

Groaning in frustration, she turned and straight up punched one of them away, before she grabbed the second Octolings weapon and turned it against him, firing multiple powerful shots of ink through his stomach, chest, and then finally, his head. As he collapsed, she fired at and killed the Octoling from before, and then turned back to the direction of the light she shattered, successfully landing headshots on both the Octolings that were underneath it from a distance.

Her armor covered in multiple colors of ink at this point, she walked down the hall, ripping her spear down from the light as she passed. More Octolings turned the corner, as if they had no idea what was coming to them, and were of course quickly dealt with as Jessica used her spear on them and left their corpses behind with everyone else.

* * *

As this was happening, Ayesha was still on the floor in a hallway, separated from everyone else, only now waking up after being knocking unconscious. She coughed and groaned as she breathed in the smoke, and quickly entering a state of fight-or-flight, she forced herself up to her feet, using the wall for support. "…Jessie…!" Breathing in pretty much nothing but smoke, she coughed some more, desperately looking around. "…Jessie! Come and fight me!" She started making her way down the hall, toward where she could hear the fighting.

After walking past an entire hallways' worth of corpses, all of them Underdogs, she finally turned a corner and was able to see the Executioner, still killing a few more Octolings and leaving them dead at her feet. "…Hey…!"

Jessica pulled her spear out of the last Octoling, looking down the hallway at her. _"…Still want your party?"_

There was no way Ayesha was gonna go down without a fight. Dropping the rag and letting her arm bleed freely, she pulled out a knife with her last remaining hand. "…We've not even started…" She grinned weakly.

Spear still in hand, Jessica started making her way down the hall toward her, and Ayesha did the same. To Jessica, this looked like an easy fight, but Ayesha didn't plan on making it easy. Suddenly, mustering her strength, Ayesha flipped her knife in her hand before she began _running_ down the hall, jumping and kicking off the wall as she attacked Jessica. She successfully slashed at the Executioner mask, cracking it only slightly, before kicking the spear out of Jessica's hand.

She went for more slashes at her mask, but Jessica blocked them, and countered with punches. Missing a hand, Ayesha was weak in hand-to-hand combat, but luckily for her, knife play was her speciality. She slashed at her several times, occasionally throwing her knife into the air and quickly catching it again in order to stay unpredictable and keep Jessica on her toes. Slowly, she was chipping away at her armor, creating more and more of a second crack in the Executioner mask. She soon had her against the wall, and went for a piercing, finishing blow, but Jessica ducked to dodge such an attack, and the knife instead got stuck in the wall.

Weakly, Ayesha attempted to pull it out, but she had already made too much of a tactical mistake; Jessica was too quick for her, and had already picked back up her spear. With one almost effortless swing, Ayesha's entire arm was sliced off, and she again screamed out in pain. Now, she didn't even have a single hand. And just like that, Jessica had already won. Now, it was just time to finish it. Putting her spear away, she grabbed Ayesha's knife from the wall, and shoved her up against it, holding her in a choke position. Before she could make the killing move, however, she was interrupted as Ayesha suddenly broke down into a laugh.

A single, long, haunting laugh.

Here she was, missing both hands and an arm, bleeding profusely all over the floor beneath, yet laughing above all of it. Jessica actually felt a chill run down her spine.

As soon as Ayesha was done laughing, she leaned her head forward, staring into the mask. "…I wish I could see your eyes, babe…"

Jessica didn't respond.

"...This is how you fall… how _we_ fall… we think violence is the answer, and then we take pleasure in seeing our enemies bleed… and then you think you can feel that same pleasure in making me feel pain, but the thing is, you already made me feel pain long ago…" She laughed again. "We're the same, Jessie… so show me your eyes…"

Angrily, Jessica decided she had enough. Using Ayesha's own knife against her, she pierced her right in the chest and let go of the weapon, leaving it inside of her. Ayesha immediately choked up ink as this happened, and yet, she was still staring at her, an evil grin on her face.

Although her eyes were met with the Executioner mask, her mind was going elsewhere, her life flashing before her eyes. Memories were flooding in. Memories of a hospital room. Of the girl she loved.

_A pot of fake flowers, the only type of flower they had in the domes, stood still on the nightstand by the hospital bed. A slow, steady heartrate beep came from a monitor, as Camila laid in the hospital bed. It was getting dangerously slow, actually. Ayesha was sitting over the bed, holding Camila's hand quite tightly._

_Camila stared back, before she started to feel something was wrong. "…B-Babe…?"_

_Ayesha looked at her. "Babe… I'm here…"_

_Ward, who was also in the room, went over. "Hello, darling…"_

_Camila looked at both of them. She was feeling weaker and weaker, and her heartrate was getting slower and slower. Indeed, the doctors had confirmed earlier she only had so much time to live, and there wasn't anything they could do about it. "…I… I think I'm slipping away…" She teared up._

_"We know…" Ward said, tearfully and shakefully reaching over to hold her hand. "Just stay relaxed…"_

_"...I'm slipping… I'm slipping…" Fear started to take her over._

_"Just relax…" He repeated._

_"...F-Father…"_

_"Yes…?"_

_"...I-I wanted to do better…"_

_"...You don't need to… you did just fine…"_

_"...I failed you…"_

_"You failed no one. You're my daughter…" He kissed her hand. "And I love you… with all my hearts…"_

_"We're going to make Agent 3 pay…" Ayesha said, although it's a line that she had repeated multiple times. "We're going to make the Inklings pay… I swear it…"_

_Camila then looked at Ayesha. Although when they met, they didn't get along as well, and they happened to have met the day that she was injured in the first place. But despite that, Ayesha had spend every day since then by her bedside. They had grown quite fond of each other. If only she was strong enough to feel her lips a last time… "…Babe…"_

_"...Yes, babe…?" Ayesha replied._

_"...I'm slipping…"_

_"I know… but you know what…?"_

_"...What…?"_

_"I think that you're strong… you're too strong to slip… you've endured a life of pain..."_

_"...I don't like the pain…"_

_"It'll go away now… but at least it's a sign that you've lived… because pain is beautiful…"_

_"...B-Beautiful…"_

_"...Just like you…"_

_"...Beautiful… beautiful…" She repeated the word a few times, until her eyes rolled inside her head and her head relaxed. Her eyes closed themselves, and her hand went limp under Ayesha's._

_A flatline echoed throughout the room._

The memory faded with the rest of Ayesha's consciousness as any last sign of life left her eyes, and her face muscles relaxed as her head drooped forward. Jessica finally let go, and her body slid down the wall before it relaxed in her pool of ink. She stayed there, standing over her fallen enemy.

Not too many people remained in the base at this point; for the most part, it was just Jessica and multiple hallways of Octoling corpses, some of them beheaded. However, there was still one group of Octolings left, and their leader was absolutely pissed.

"NO!" Jessica could hear right as she turned to walk away, as she was suddenly hit point blank in the mask by a shot of ink, knocking her back a bit. She grunted, before two more shots hit in her same spot. The mask was cracked further, and she fell down, convulsing as her body fell into another seizure.

Hugh Ward, the one who fired the shots, walked up to her and Ayesha's body, followed a few Octolings that had just as much armor on as Jessica did. He dropped his weapon and immediately knelt down, checking Ayesha's pulse. "Ayesha… Ayesha! Wake up!" When he didn't get a response, and realized he wasn't getting a pulse either, he stood up, staring down at her sadly.

Jessica had already recovered from her seizure, but was too weak to do much now, and was unable to do much as an Octoling reached over and pulled off her mask, finally revealing her face.

"...You did this…" Ward turned to her.

Jessica stared up at him angrily for a moment before she responded. "…You're damn right I did… and you're next, once I-"

Ward suddenly kicked her in the face, and she went limp as she fell unconscious. He kneeled down next to Ayesha again, sadly gripping her shoulder, as his eyes started welling up. "…I'm… sorry I wasn't there… to protect you… I… I should've done more…"

"...What do we do with them, sir?" An Octoling behind him asked.

He took a moment to think it over. "…Tie the agent up… bring her to my office…"

"...And Ayesha?"

He paused again, and planted a kiss on Ayesha's pale forehead before he stood up. "…You know what to do with her…"

They nodded. Two Octolings went to grab Jessica, and another two went to pick up Ayesha's body.

* * *

**Several Minutes Later**

Jessica's eyes fluttered open as she finally came to, groaning as she was greeted by a horrific headache. She tried to move her arms, but was unable to do much with them, as they were both chained to the ceiling, and she was actually hanging off of them, dangling just above the floor, with her legs chained to the floor as well. She was stripped of her Executioner armor as well, leaving her in the tanktop she was wearing underneath.

At least she could move her head, and she turned to see that she was in Ward's office, with all the monitors lined up on the wall, that were currently displaying nothing but a static image, giving the room an ominous feel. Ward himself was at his desk, setting up an assortment of different torture weapons. Needles, knives, her confiscated spear, what appeared to be surgery tools, a nanotech bomb, and even a chainsaw. She gasped slightly when she realized her situation, struggling to escape her bonds.

Ward looked up at her when he heard her. "…Oh, good. You're awake."

Jessica didn't respond, continuing to struggle to no avail.

"I was going to wake you up regardless. I have… adrenaline, right here." He held up a needle to show her. "Wouldn't want you passing out, while I'm working on you, would I? That'd be… disappointing." He continued preparing. "…Say, Agent 3, have you ever been opened up and gutted while you were still alive?"

Jessica whimpered slightly as she heard that, getting more and more desperate with her struggle. One of the chains did seem a little loose from where it hung from the ceiling, but it still wasn't budging.

"Hm… I thought not… not really a… common, sensation, I suppose. But, I imagine now…" He picked up the needle and went over to her. "…You'll be able to know what it feels like. So, I hope you have an… adventurous spirit, like your career suggests."

"...You try anything, and I will-" She was interrupted as Ward suddenly injected adrenaline right into her neck, and she gasped, its effects quick.

"Ahh…" He gave her the full injection before he pulled it out. "Feels good, doesn't it? The adrenaline rush?"

Jessica only responded with heightened breathing, and widened eyes, as she shot her gaze all around the room.

"No, no, no, look at me. I want you to look at me." He reached and grabbed her head, pulling and holding her so that her eyesight was restricted to his face. "…I'm sorry that it had to come to this, Agent 3… really, I am. In a perfect world, this city would've gone done in nothing more than a blip. A whimper, rather than a bang. But, I'm afraid that there's no such thing as a perfect world… we instead live in one, where I have to show the Inklings their flaws, and one where you've taken everything that I've held dear. My daughters. One of them, my best friend. My loyal servant, who meant the world to me. Do you understand? Do you understand what you've taken from me?"

Jessica only glared into his eyes, gritting her teeth.

"...I thought not." He continued. "Because Inklings, are incapable, of feeling love." He suddenly slapped her. "True love." He hit her again. "And now-" Another hit. "-I'm going to show you _hatred_." He kept hitting her. "I'm going to show you suffering." He hit her a last time, and she starting convulsing in his hand as another seizure hit her. He ignored it, and instead went to grab his first tools, a knife and the nanotech bomb, before returning. As soon as she recovered from her seizure, he lifted up her shirt. "You're going to die _slowly, _Agent 3. And you're going to feel every waking second of it."

Jessica tried her best to fight him off, but he held her still, and she was unable to do anything as the knife slid into her abdomen just enough to break the skin and start cutting her open. A blood-curdling scream escaped her mouth.

* * *

As this was happening, multiple police cars were pulling up outside the base, and a whole team of fully armored policemen stepped out, Detective Johnson leading them. Thankfully for them, the bases defenses were currently low thanks to Jessica's massacre, but they still had some work to do before they could get inside. Johnson walked down to the base entrance, seeing just how fortified it seemed. Thankfully, he had already foreseen this. "…Get the bombs!"

"Yes, sir!" His new, temporary partner responded as he returned to his car. They pulled some stronger, police issued splat bombs out from the trunk, and then took them over to the front gate, starting to set them up.

* * *

Inside, Ward was about to place the nanotech bomb inside of Jessica when the base once again turned red, and the alarm sounded. He looked around. "…Son of a bitch…"

Jessica panted and was crying from the pain, and there was currently a hole in her stomach.

Ward returned to his desk and turned the monitors on the wall to the outdoor security feeds, seeing the police outside. Jessica, seizing the moment, returned her attention to the chains, particularly the one that was a bit loose, and mustered all her remaining strength as she pulled on it.

Ward was too busy to notice, instead focused on keeping the police out. In absolute fight-or-flight mode, Jessica screamed as she pulled so hard on the chain that her arm just about came off and was actually ripping slightly, and finally, the top of the chain fell from the ceiling. He heard this, and ran back in an attempt to stop her, but was stopped as Jessica swatted the chain at him like a whip. The hook cut him, and he stopped to hold the wound.

Jessica's arm now hurt and was bleeding from the immense strength she just used, but she still had to break the rest of herself free. Eyeing her spear on the table, she used the chain to whip the table leg, multiple times, until it broke and knocked everything off.

"NO!" Ward again tried to stop her, but it was too late. Jessica had already reached and reclaimed her spear, and popped it out, immediately stabbing him through the stomach, before quickly pulling it back out. He gagged and stepped back, collapsing by the wall, as Jessica used the spear to cut all of her limbs free. She panted and collapsed to her knees afterward, holding her stomach to make sure her insides didn't spill out.

Ward coughed up ink as he held his wound, staring at her. "…You…"

Jessica weakly looked at him, now sweaty, pale, and exhausted.

He coughed up even more ink. "…You think… you can win…?"

"...I'm counting on it…"

"...You think… after everything you've done… you can have a happy ending…?"

She shook her head, slowly standing up. "…No… not for me…"

They then heard an explosion, followed by the collapse of the front entrance. Jessica turned her head in the direction, before looking back at Ward.

"...This city… will fall… _you_ will fall…" Ward continued. "You'll pay eventually… you have to…"

"...What makes you so sure…?"

"Your brother…"

Jessica fell silent.

"Don't forget your brother… a crazy Murdock… just like you… he's… a loose cannon… and I've aimed him at the city… and once he's done… you'll understand pain… it's in you-"

Done listening to him, Jessica suddenly swung her spear at him, slicing his head off in only a split second. His head awkwardly toppled off and rolled away, leaving his body to collapse all the way onto the ground. Jessica retracted her spear, wheezing a bit as she backed up slightly, limping. She watched as his remains formed a puddle of ink.

"Move! Move!" Some police officers that were now searching the base had apparently heard that, and she could now hear footsteps heading straight for her. It wasn't long before she could hear banging on the office door. She sighed.

It took several bangs to knock the door down, but Jessica didn't even bother fleeing. Instead, she waited patiently for them, and even dropped her spear. Finally, the door broke from its hinges and collapsed at her feet, and three officers stepped in.

"IPD, don't move!" Johnson yelled, leading them as he aimed his weapon at her.

Jessica stood still, staring at them.

Johnson fell silent for a moment as he observed the scene: the headless body, torture weapons on the floor, chains on the floor and one hanging from the ceiling. Not quite understanding what was going on, he turned back to Jessica. "…Jessica Murdock… You're under arrest…"

Showing no signs of resistance whatsoever, she let herself collapse to her knees, and slowly put her arms behind her head.


	24. Beginning of the End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath, Johnson has Jessica, and the two have an only-so-friendly chat. Meanwhile, things only get worse when Daniel begins his own terrifying mission.

_"And now for some big breaking news: Hugh Ward, who has been identified as the Octarian leader of the Underdogs terrorist group, the same terrorist group that has allegedly shot up multiple locations within Inkopolis, including the Inkopolis Bank, has been found deceased yesterday. Jessica Murdock, who has infamously been known as Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, was found on the scene, and has been brought into custody by Detective Grant Johnson, who has since been promoted to Sergeant for the act. Sergeant Johnson denied our request for comment."_

As the news went on into more detail about the incident, Deangelo sighed angrily, with a drink in his hand. "Turn it off!"

The female Octoling in the room nodded and went to the turn the TV off, and he turned away from it. His face was still a bit swollen from his last encounter with Jessica, and he was in a lot of pain. Regardless, he still brought the drink to his mouth and downed it, groaning, before casually filling it back up.

"...Sir? May I suggest-" She tried to bring up.

"You don't have to say anything." He sighed. "…Ward built an empire… then he forgot his head on the way out the door, and everything we've worked on collapses to dust… even Ayesha's gone, for fuck's sake."

"...So what do you think we should do?"

"...We're gonna have to leave the city. Before the police find out about us."

"...To where?"

"I don't know. But we're packing up!" He shouted so that hopefully everyone else could hear him as he walked out of his office. "I want everything we own here loaded up onto trucks! The Underdogs are done, but our work will still live on!"

"Yes, sir!" Some other Octolings replied before they got to work.

"Sir…" His assistant followed him. "What about the nanotech weapon?"

"Load that up, too. We're taking it with us."

"It's heavy."

"Then figure it out."

She nodded and walked away, although she didn't make it too far. Deangelo was staring out the window into the afternoon view, sipping his drink some more, when a gunshot sounded, followed the sound of splattering ink. He jumped and looked.

"Hey!" Some other Octolings tried to apprehend the intruding shooter, but were unable to do much before they were quickly gunned down by the high-pressure charger. Soon, there wasn't anyone standing in his way, as everyone else stood down in fear.

Deangelo gulped and held his arms up in surrender when he saw the shooter walking straight for him, stepping out of the shadows. "…You again…" He sighed when he saw his face.

Daniel stood in front of him, his face covered with the bled ink of his victims, as he stared him down with a psychotic look in his eyes. He was wearing a suicide vest, to keep anyone from firing at him. And he wasn't alone; Vanessa stepped out of the shadows as well, shyly standing next to her new partner.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Tenta-General Hospital**

It had been a long, nearly sleepless day for Johnson, who was operating on only a 30 minute nap, some food, and coffee. When he arrived at the hospital, he quickly noticed that it was being swarmed by press who had heard about Jessica's arrest, who were being kept at bay by security. He sighed and, although it took a few minutes, pushed his way past the crowd and was soon let inside.

He made his way down the hall in the direction of Jessica's hospital room, which was also protected by security, and was surrounded by police officers. Captain Hertz, who was talking to a security guard, turned and saw him, smiling. "Ah, there he is! Man of the hour!"

"Captain." He nodded casually.

Hertz wasn't so casual, though. He walked up to him, proudly shook his hand, and stepped aside so that everyone could see him. "Sergeant Grant Johnson, ladies and gentlemen!"

The police that were in the hall clapped, all eyes on him. Johnson didn't argue, and opted to just politely smile and wave at them. "Thank you, everybody."

"Congrats on the promotion." An officer came up to shake his hand.

"Thank you." He replied.

Other officers came up and did the same thing, congratulating him individually. He was a bit annoyed and getting impatient, but thanked everyone regardless. As soon as the attention was no longer on him, however, he immediately turned to Hertz, putting on his usual more serious gaze. "I need to talk to Murdock."

"Oh, come on, Johnson, what else do you need to ask of her? The case is over. The Underdogs are done, and the Splatoon is done. She's injured and we're watching her. She's not going anywhere. Besides, she's a stubborn one, and she's been refusing to tell us when her damn birthday is."

"I just…" He sighed. "I have a few questions to ask her."

He sighed as well, sipping his coffee, but he didn't have much of an argument. "…You know, you're pretty stubborn yourself, you know that?"

"You're the one who promoted me."

"Yes, I am. And don't you forget it." He decided to just turn to the security. "Let the Sergeant in. No one else is allowed in or out."

"Yes, sir." One guard opened the door and stepped aside to let Johnson in.

Hertz gave Johnson a pat on the shoulder before walking away. "Add it to the list of favors you owe me."

"Yes, sir." Johnson echoed, before he walked over and entered the hospital room. The guards immediately blocked the entrance again and closed the door once he was inside.

He looked around a bit once he was in. Jessica was in the hospital bed, in a hospital gown while she was hooked up to machinery, and both of her hands were handcuffed to the bed rails. It wasn't visible through her gown, but the cut in her stomach had already been patched up, and she was already well on the road to recovery. She stared at him, unmoving.

Johnson stood before her, hands in his pockets. "…Well… Jessica Murdock… you've created quite the buzz around the city, you know. You and your gang are getting to be quite infamous."

Jessica stayed silent.

"I have some questions for you. So that we can get things settled. Maybe I can even get your sentence reduced."

"...Execution." She finally spoke.

He stared at her, confused. "…Excuse me?"

"...I want to be put on death row."

"...Death row isn't that simple, Agent 3."

"...Make it that simple."

"...May I ask why the change of heart?"

Jessica sighed. "I committed homicide on approximately… 30, maybe 40 Octolings inside the base alone, including Hugh Ward and his second-in-command, Ayesha. I didn't feel a thing for any one of them. Before that, I've killed several targets over my career as Agent 3, related and unrelated to the Underdogs, including Octarians in Octo Valley, and attempted homicide on an innocent Octoling in the NILS Statue. Over my career, I have also tortured, extorted, abused-"

"I've heard enough, thank you. Most of that was already on your file, and I'm not here for your testimony."

Jessica continued anyway. "I have tortured and extorted targets over my career, and in my recent negligence to do the right thing, I have caused the deaths of innocent people, including Mia Harper, everyone at Inky Cheeks-"

"Enough!" Johnson snapped this time. Jessica fell silent, and he sighed. "I'm not putting you on death row."

"What, you're gonna put me in prison so I can _'learn the hard way'_?"

"We're figuring that out."

"Well, either you put me on death row or I'll find my own way out."

He ignored that, and he pulled up a chair to sit close to the bed. "…Can I tell you something?"

"...Can I stop you?"

"...I've been... questioning things, lately. I've been questioning the system. Our society. My own faith in Inkling-kind. You know, stuff like that. And to be frank with you, I just got promoted today, thanks to my accomplishment of bringing you in, because no one wanted to give _you_ the credit of what you did. I'm sitting here with a promotion I'm not sure I even deserve because of you. You single-handedly dismantled the Underdogs. In a night. I have never, _ever_ seen anyone like you in my own career. And yet, people out there think you're the bad guy. For a while, I thought you were too."

"...What changed your mind?"

"You saved my life. You tried to save my partner too. I could tell, I was there. And even then, you did the thing I couldn't: you avenged her."

Jessica sighed.

"...In the end, all us police guys are trying to do is make the city safer. You understand that, right?"

"Yes..."

"...What I failed to see was that was the purpose of the Splatoon as well. Most of you didn't even do much, that's why most of you are just on house arrest. And yet, we shut you down. And I'm sorry for that."

Jessica sighed again, leaning her head back in frustration.

He sighed a little as well. "...I guess, what I'm trying to say, is that I think you're a good person. Sure, you've done things, questionable things, but I see now that you did what you did in the line of duty. You're not with the Underdogs like I suspected you were, and you're not a terrorist. And I'll never forget what you did to save my life."

Jessica put some thought into what he was saying, but shrugged it off. "...Your head's up the wrong ass, Detective, or Sergeant, or whatever rank you are now. I'm not a good person. And I deserve to be put away."

"And you know what, I do agree. To an extent. No matter what I think, you're gonna be locked up for a long time. Just thought I'd share my opinion."

Jessica fell silent.

"...Now, if we're done sulking, I'd like to ask you those questions, please?"

"...Fine..."

"Thank you..." He took out his notepad and a pen. "First off. I want to hear your side of the story. From the night your apartment was firebombed and you went missing."

Jessica thought about it for only a moment, before she broke down the _entire_ story for him, from her own point of view, all the way from the incident he requested, to her recent massacre and arrest. She was mostly honest about it as well, and the only details she withheld were the location of Cuttlefish Bunker and Bridgett's involvement. She didn't want her to take the fall, after all.

Johnson wrote this all down, but was confused on some aspects. "Wait a minute... your brother... worked with the Underdogs?"

"He was the Executioner. He was the one who set us up to leak all of our Splatoon data in the first place, and he shot up... well... you know…"

This was definitely news to him. Surprising news, actually. "...And where is he now?"

* * *

**Deangelo's Base**

"H-Hold your fire…" Deangelo requested to all the nearby Octolings, that were still holding Daniel at gunpoint.

Daniel smiled a bit. "Don't worry. The suicide vest is just to keep you from doing anything stupid. If I go down, we all die."

"Y-yeah, I got that… P-Please… y-you don't have to kill me…" Deangelo was still holding his hands up. "What left do you have to gain from killing me?"

"...Is that why you think I'm here?" He replied, his finger that was on the gun's trigger twitching a bit. "I'm not here to kill you. Vanessa and I are here because you're still of use."

Vanessa was still standing near his back, looking like she didn't entirely want to be there, yet kept her expression as tough as possible.

Deangelo was now shaking a bit. "...What use…? Didn't you hear the news? Ward is dead. The Underdogs just collapsed, I have no use left. I swear."

Daniel sighed. "...Well, if that were true, then, I might as well just kill you right here and right now. But it's not true. You have something that we want."

"...What?"

Vanessa was the next to speak. "When Jessica and I investigated into the Underdogs, we found blueprints of a nanotech weapon of mass destruction here in the city. Powerful enough to destroy the whole city."

"And last I heard, Deangelo, it was hidden right here in your own base." Daniel continued. "We want to know where it is."

"...I-I swear, I don't know what you're talking ab-" He lied, but was met with Daniel's charger in his face. He flinched. "No! Don't kill me!"

"Aww…" Daniel mocked. "You scared of the lights going out?"

He didn't respond.

"Tell us there the weapon is. And I won't lay a finger on you."

"...W-What do you want it for?"

"We want to destroy it." Vanessa walked up a bit, feeling more confident. "We're gonna sweep your Underdogs legacy under the rug. And if... you play nice… we'll let you go scot-free, and we'll never speak of it again."

"Y-You can't just des-" He tried to say, but Daniel shoved the charger closer to his face so that it was touching him. "Ok! Ok! I know exactly where it is!"

* * *

A few minutes passed as Deangelo led them to a large vault, held at gunpoint by Daniel the whole time, and he started the long process of unlocking it; they had to go through two locked doors with keypads just to access the vault itself, which had an extra long code. A very long code, actually. Deangelo had to type that in as well, but he had one tiny problem. He awkwardly looked at them. "Guys… um… I-I need the code…"

"Don't you have it memorized?" Daniel asked.

"Well… I've tried to, before, but i-it's about as long as a nuclear code, I can't just-"

"Try it anyway." He pressed the weapon against his face again and he flinched.

He whimpered a bit, sweating. "…I-If I mess up the code, the base will self destr-"

"I said TRY!" He yelled above the voices in his own head.

"Daniel." Vanessa tried to interrupt.

"Relax, I know what I'm doing…" He replied simply.

Deangelo nervously turned to face the keypad, sweating more and more. Vanessa backed up again, preparing to flee in case some kind of self destruct countdown started.

Deangelo put all of his mental energy into remembering the code, given that his life _literally_ depended on it, as he slowly entered it in, thinking carefully about each digit. After several minutes of this, thankfully for all of them, the panel turned green, and he sighed in relief. But, to Daniel's confusion, it still didn't open.

"...Why isn't it doing anything?" He asked.

Deangelo ignored him, and went to shakily pull on the wheel, until they heard a clicking sound. He pulled on it, and the door finally opened. They all peeked inside.

Indeed, the weapon that Vanessa had seen the blueprints for was inside, a large and heavy metal canister with a dome-shaped topping. It had a panel with several buttons and a small screen on it.

Daniel looked at it, as if questioning if it was real, like he questioned lots of things. "…This is it?"

Deangelo nodded, still shaking and sweating. "…Just as dangerous as a nuke if you use it correctly…"

"How do we destroy it?" Vanessa asked.

"...I don't know…"

"...Wheel it out of here." Daniel commanded.

"...A-Are you serious?"

"Now!" He pointed the weapon at him again, and he jumped before he went to get some Octolings to do as requested.

It took some heavy lifting, but they soon had the weapon on the largest luggage cart they had, and they wheeled it out to the main area of the base, by where the trucks were. After some more heavy lifting, they had it loaded into a truck, tied it down, and hid it under a tarp, while Daniel kept an eye on them as this happened.

"...It's loaded and ready to go." An Octoling told him.

"Thank you." Daniel replied.

Vanessa, who was staying close to him, grabbed his arm a bit to pull him aside. She started talking to him, but Daniel wasn't listening so much.

Instead, Daniel's gazed veered off to the side, as the voices in his head took over. Yelling at him. Screeching at him. She didn't even realize Vanessa was talking until-

"Daniel." Vanessa snapped her fingers in his face.

He blinked. "What…?"

"I asked what exactly what we're gonna do with that thing? Like… if we dump it in a lake, it'll surely disappear… but that wouldn't entirely destroy it… We might… what if we blow it up? In which case, we don't even have to take it out of the base, we can just bomb it right here."

His gaze veered to the side again.

"...Daniel!" She snapped her fingers again. "Are you listening?"

He flinched slightly and forcefully grabbed her hand. "Yes, I get it, I heard you." He lied. "…What are you wanting to do?"

"...I said I think that we should blow it up. We can leave Deangelo with it and he'll be stuck in the blast. And then… once it's all done, we can… we can leave the city. And you can train me there, like we discussed."

"...You still want me to train you?"

"...It was part of our deal. So that I can be like Agent 3. Remember?"

Daniel fell silent, as if he was having trouble even remembering this in the first place.

"...You do… remember… don't you…? Why… why do you think I let you go…?"

"...I get that… but I think we've had a misunderstanding…"

She was getting a bit nervous now. "…What…?"

"I didn't bring you here to destroy the weapon. I came here to acquire it."

Everyone in the whole base turned to him, somewhat surprised, and Deangelo stepped up. "Hey, man, you can't just-"

In response, Daniel suddenly lifted his charger and shot him through the head without hesitation, and his ink splattered the floor behind him before his body collapsed to the ground.

Vanessa jumped and backed up. "...Daniel… y-you can't do this…"

"...Are you not with me?" Daniel asked her, as if nothing just happened.

"...I-I didn't say that... I just..."

"I thought you let me go because you knew that this city requires correction... and that my sister needs to be taken out..."

She gulped. "Y-Yeah... and we'll... we'll take her out… if you really want… b-but there are other ways to handle this, you… I… I'm not letting you use that thing. Too many innocent lives will be taken."

"That's the only way this city can be corrected, though. Ward taught that to me. Don't you get that? I came on as the Executioner... I still have to finish what he started."

Vanessa fell silent.

"...Hm…" He was getting a bit frustrated now. "…I wanna make something clear!" He suddenly shouted, for all the remaining Octolings to hear. "I didn't come here to hang out! You all work for me now! And anyone who wants to tell me otherwise, will get to join Deangelo!"

The Octolings just stared at him without any signs of resistance, as they were unable to much in resistance, anyway.

"Hugh Ward is dead! But I'm gonna finish what he started! So that the people in this city, and my sister, get what they deserve! So here's what you're going to do! We're going to assemble every last surviving Octoling in the whole organization, and we're gonna work under one wing! _My_ wing!"

Some of the Octolings were even nodding their heads in approval, just happy to see that their mission wasn't done yet after all, while Vanessa stared in horror.

"_I_ am the Underdogs now!" Daniel finished, pointing at his own chest.

The Octolings replied with an Octarian chant.

"You can't do this… Daniel, you can't do this!" Vanessa started shouting, and desperately went to the van as if to find her own way to destroy the weapon. Two Octolings, however, grabbed her and held her back. "NO! NO! DANIEL! DANIEL, LOOK AT ME! I CAN HELP YOU! WE CAN HELP EACH OTHER! WE'LL KILL YOUR SISTER, I PROMISE, BUT JUST PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!"

"Tie her up." Daniel told them, ignoring her.

"NO! N-" Her screams were muffled as an Octoling covered her mouth, and they carried her off, resisting her struggles.

"Should've just killed me when you had the chance!" Daniel told her angrily before he was carried into the other room and out of her sight. He turned to the Octolings. "…Now get to work!"

"Yes, sir!" They chanted in unison, as they got to work. One Octoling, however, was stopped by Daniel.

"You. I have a question." He told her.

"Y-Yes, sir?"

"You know those messages that Ward recorded before his… demise?"

"...Yes…"

"...You should know what to do."

* * *

**An Hour Later**

**Tenta-General Hospital**

Jessica was still in her hospital room, cuffed to her bed as she was before, as she was going through a second round of questions with Johnson. They were both getting pretty tired, but Johnson kept going, wanting as much information as possible. That was, until the door suddenly opened and Captain Hertz stepped inside. "Johnson. We have a situation."

Johnson turned to him. "Can it wait? I'm in the middle of an interrogation and I'm actually getting good answers out of her."

"Now! This is bad!" He snapped.

Johnson sighed and turned back to Jessica, standing up. "…I'll be back…" He went and walked out, following the seemingly desperate Hertz out and closing the door.

Jessica sighed as well as leaned back in boredom, unable to do much else. Suddenly, however, the TV hanging on the wall in front of her powered on all by itself, and she squinted up at it in confusion.

It was broadcasting a still image of… the Underdogs logo.

The police were gathering out in the hospital hallway to a different TV, where the exact same broadcast was showing. In fact, every single TV in the entire hospital was playing it now, even if they weren't turned on previously. Johnson stared up at his own next to Hertz, fearful of what was happening.

All eyes in the hospital were on a TV screen when it finally transitioned to a pre-recorded message of Hugh Ward's face. Even if it was a bit jumbled and glitched, the message was clear.

_"People of Inkopolis."_ He spoke.

* * *

It wasn't just the hospital. Every single TV and radio in Inkopolis had just gotten hacked and turned on to play the message for everyone who was nearby one to see.

_"My name is Hugh Ward." _The message continued, in sync everywhere. _"I am the Octarian leader of the organization you will know only as the Underdogs. If you're hearing this message, you are to soon find out just what my purpose in this city is. For years, the Inkling race has been serving as a plague on the very ground you walk on, the ground that you live on. You seek out war." _Every screen began to show a montage of old black and white footage from the Great Turf War, including the original Squidbeak Splatoon. _"You bathe in it. You think you're fair; but then you force your own brothers and sisters underground, desperate for food and energy, without ever turning another gaze toward us. For years, you have looked at Octarians as the bad guys; Worse yet, you think you, yourselves, are the good guys." _The screens then began showing footage of Agent 3 in Octo Valley, and Agent 4 in Octo Canyon. It wasn't afraid to show off their… less pleasing actions, either. _"But I am here to show you just what you are."_

Basically everyone in the city was staring at a screen now, as it began showing chaotic footage of Inklings causing disaster throughout history; some of it was footage of both generations of the Squidbeak Splatoon. _"This is the beginning of the end. Soon, Inklings and all other surface species will understand our pain. As you tear each other apart, you will soon face your city's end."_

* * *

Jessica was still in her hospital bed, staring up at her own screen in horror, as it soon turned back to Ward's face. _"Know that there will be no fleeing, no escaping, no salvation. Your time has come. So make use of what little of it you have left. The clock starts now. Again, my name is Hugh Ward, and we are the Underdogs."_

Johnson and the rest of the officers were still staring at their screen, listening intently, when the message cut off and all the TVs powered down. They stood in silence, unable to believe what they just witnessed. Jessica was equally as silent, still staring at her screen.

Some officers exchanged hushed whispers."...What do we do?" An officer asked, deciding to break the silence.

Johnson and Hertz were both just standing in silence.


	25. New Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As everyone grows more desperate, Jessica finds herself in an alliance with the police. Meanwhile, Vanessa attempts her escape.

It wasn't long after Hugh Ward's message was sent out that the city started to descend into chaos; although a fair amount of people took the video as an empty threat given the recent news of Ward's death, there were also a fair amount of people that were straight up panicking and trying to leave the city. The Inkopolis airport had already been shut down due to being flooded with an unusually high amount of people, and traffic in the streets was high. Some people had even started rioting and looting stores. It was just what Ward wanted.

The IPD station where Johnson worked was particularly frenzied, with many officers working late and heading back and forth, and the building was filled with the sounds of phones ringing and people talking on them.

Captain Hertz speedily entered the building, looking around at the chaos. He had left the hospital an hour ago, and was supposed to meet back up with Johnson here. "…SOMEONE TELL ME SOME GOOD NEWS!" He shouted.

An officer turned to him. "Sir, we traced the broadcast to the Inkopolis Radio Tower, but we have no idea how it-"

"Did you ask them how it was possible!?"

"Y-Yes, sir… all they know is that they've been hacked, but it's physically impossible to trace-"

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" He rubbed his forehead. "Tell them to try again!"

"W-We've been in contact all night and they've gone over it several times-"

"DID I STUTTER!?"

He just nodded and turned back to the phone.

Hertz continued looking around, pretty desperate at this point. "…Has anyone seen Johnson!?"

"I'm here!" Johnson pushed his way past a group of officers as he ran up to him.

"Oh, good. The Sergeant." He said, sarcastically. "You mind telling me how this happened!? Hugh Ward was decapitated! And you better explain fast, before I have your promoted ass on my office wall!"

"I know, Captain. I'm sorry. I've been racking my brain. We don't know who sent out the video, we've been looking ever since it was sent out."

"Really? I'll give you three guesses."

He sighed, deciding to just ignore his threats and his sarcasm. He was used to it, anyway. "…I might have one lead. And it's crazy. I know it is. But it might be our best shot."

"What kind of crazy?"

He hesitated, half expecting to have his face blown off by screaming. "…I think we should make a deal with Agent 3."

He just fell into silence, staring at him in disbelief.

"She's been tracing the Underdogs better than any of us. She knows them. It's a personal case for her.

"You arrested her while she was standing in their very base. She went missing for months while the Underdogs unleashed hell on the city. She's not our ally!"

"Well, she's obviously not our enemy, either. Look at the big picture, Hertz! She massacred them! It wasn't anyone else, it was her! It was wrong, it was immoral, but I can tell she wanted to stop them just as much as we do. And I listened to her story. She went missing because the Underdogs attacked her. They firebombed her apartment."

"And you really think you can trust her?"

"...Yes. I trust her just as much now as you trusted me before. You haven't seen her in action. What she's really like."

"I don't think you have either."

"I've seen what she's like deep down. Sure, she's a murderer, but she's only killed bad people. And she confessed to it. She went out of her way to save my life even if it meant she could get arrested and she's been tracking the Underdogs the whole damn time. If there's anyone who can find them… it's her. And unlike Cuttlefish, she's actually been talking to me. I'm getting to her. We have an understanding."

Hertz didn't like the situation at all. In fact, he was on the verge of firing Johnson just out of pure anger. But on the other hand, he could tell he wasn't lying. Besides… desperate times, desperate measures.

Johnson just stared back at him, awaiting a response. Any response. When Hertz didn't say anything, he continued anyway. "…We'll just make a deal with her. One deal. Then she'll go away forever."

Hertz still didn't say anything. But what other choice did they have?

* * *

**The Next Morning**

_'You're making a mistake.'_

_'You're making a big mistake.'_

_'Jessica won't ever love you this way.'_

_'Everyone will hate you.'_

_'Everyone will be dead, there wouldn't be anyone to hate you.'_

_'No one will love you.'_

_'Everyone will be dead.'_

_'You will be dead.'_

_'Don't do it, Daniel.'_

_'Reunite with Jessica.'_

_'She'll kill you.'_

_'She'll love you.'_

_'Kill her before she kills you.'_

_'Kill yourself before she kills you.'_

_'Finish what you started, Daniel.'_

_'KILL EVERYONE, DANIEL!'_

Daniel opened his eyes as the voices continued on their seemingly endless attack in his own mind, and he sighed. He was now sitting in what used to be Deangelo's office, and had been working on his charger before he lost his focus to the voices.

"...You're making a big mistake." Vanessa suddenly spoke up, not making eye contact with him. She was currently tied up in the corner of the room, and wasn't really bothering to break herself free at this point.

Daniel looked at her. He honestly wasn't sure if Vanessa actually just said that or if one of the voices did. "…Am I?" He responded anyway.

"...Jessica's still out there… even if she's in custody…" She looked up at him. "…She'll come for you."

He sighed and picked up his charger, continuing to work on it. "I'll kill her if she does."

"No, I imagine at this point she may just kill you… she just showed the whole world that she's really just as violent as you… and she probably has a lot of pent up anger… knowing her…"

"So do I. An entire life's worth of it."

"And you think she doesn't? Don't forget that you killed her parents…"

"And my own…"

She scoffed slightly. "…I have no idea how you can such a… psychopath… it actually terrifies me that people like you even exist…"

He looked at her, getting frustrated. "…Who was it that let me go?"

"...I never said that I'm perfect myself…"

"Then shut up." He continued working. "You let me go. Then you betrayed me. Now here we are."

"You call that betrayal? You betrayed your sister, and the Splatoon. You betrayed Ward."

"No… I didn't… he… if anything, he betrayed me… he and Ayesha wanted me dead…"

"Not like you were there to protect him. Now his face is all over the news and he's missing his head."

He sighed angrily, hiding his face in his palms, before he angrily picked up a knife and started sharpening it.

At that moment, as she watched him, she got an idea. A potentially very bad idea, but an idea nonetheless. And at the moment, an idea might be all she needed. And just like that, she had her mind set. "…You know…" She lowered her voice to be a bit more… seductive. "If you… ever decide that you want to change your mind, I'm sure you'll be rewarded…"

"I'm not going to change my mind, I've already broadcasted Ward's message for everyone to see… there's no going back."

"Are you sure…?" She started innocently rubbing her foot against the ground. "You shut down this whole operation… you let me free, just like I let _you_ free… I'll make it worth your while~"

"What the hell don't you-" He turned to look at her again, only to see that somehow, someway, she was naked and posing in the chair. Caught off guard, he jumped slightly, and quickly looked away. "Oh my god, I-I'm so sorry, I-I didn't know, I-I didn't know you were…" He turned back to glance at her again. In reality, Vanessa hadn't even moved, was still tied up, and was very much still dressed. "…clothed…"

Vanessa looked at him, confused for a moment, but she did remember his condition. Perhaps this would work for her. "…You want me~?"

"No… No, I do not want you…" He huffed, shakily getting back to his work. "Y-You're just like Ayesha, you're trying to get in my head…"

"Don't pretend like I'm not already in your head… I see the way you're looking at me…"

"I am not looking at you like-" He looked at her again, seeing that in his own twisted view of the world, Vanessa was once again naked and posing, legs spread wide this time. He gasped slightly. "-that!"

Vanessa gave him a sexy giggle. …Or did she? Even her voice at this point seemed unnaturally like Ayesha's, and everything felt… off. And it was actually pretty tempting. _"I know you want me, babe~ so come take me~ I see how you're looking at me~ I see how hard you're getting~"_

He tried his best to look away. "Shut up… shut up…"

_"I bet you want my breasts on your cock~"_

"I said shut up…"

_"You see how wet you make me~?"_

"SHUT UP!" He suddenly slammed his fist down on the table as he sat up, and the loud noise both broke him out of his schizophrenic mind-sex-prison, and made Vanessa jump. He panted slightly, his boner nice and large at this point. "…If I let you go… and you give me… just… a little bit… will you stop doing that…?"

Vanessa was confused, but kept her act regardless. "I'll let you do whatever you want with me, babe~ but only if you let me go~"

He sighed. He couldn't fight it. Even the voices were screaming at him to just let her go. Shakily, he reached for his knife, and the next thing he knew, as if everything was happening in an instant, Vanessa was free of her bonds, and had seductively pinned him against his own desk. He gasped again.

"...I-I didn't say to go that rough…"

"I'm making the rules here from now on~" She kissed him, making sure that she was keeping full control of the situation. And so far, it was working. Daniel had given up control to her. And that was exactly what she needed. Granted, she wasn't exactly strong enough to keep Daniel fully pinned, but perhaps he didn't need to be.

Daniel, getting more desperate and desperate by the moment, had reached around to grip her rear, and was rubbing her boner against her somewhat, light moans escaping his mouth. Vanessa, meanwhile, was trailing her hands around his desk, for some kind of weapon she could use, anything, while trying to not look and remain as seductive as possible. And, thankfully for her, her hand managed to locate and grip his knife. Jackpot.

Daniel was distracted by the feel and taste of her lips, but it didn't stop him from hearing the slight _shing_ sound as Vanessa picked it up. He wasn't sure it was real, but he also had to make sure. He broke the kiss. "W-Wait…"

As he blinked and opened his eyes, however, he was met with the terrifying, psychopathic eyes of Ayesha instead of Vanessa's, and he gasped. 'Ayesha', noticing she had just been caught, desperately lifted the knife and was about to stab his throat with it, but wasn't fast enough, as Daniel desperately kicked her off before he sat up. She stepped back and crashed against the chair she had been tied to before, nearly falling down. Once again breaking free of the hallucination, Daniel now saw it wasn't Ayesha at all, but Vanessa was still holding a very real knife.

In fight-or-flight mode, she turned back to him and desperately swung the knife at him, but Daniel was simply too experienced and fast for her, and he easily grabbed her and took the knife back. Vanessa, however, wasn't giving up, and started desperately wrestling with him.

Barely even challenged, but eager to get her off, Daniel reached back and grabbed his charger from his desk, before speedily and somewhat randomly firing it at her. And just like that, by pure bad luck, Vanessa's knee was blown straight out. A horrifying, blood-curdling scream left her mouth as she collapsed, ink pouring out of her wound. She desperately grabbed and held it, still screaming bloody-murder for several seconds.

Multiple Octolings barged in as they heard this. "Sir!?" They looked over the situation.

Tears were streaming down Vanessa's face as she held her wound, still screaming in absolute pain. That was, until Daniel had enough of the sound.

"SHUT UP!" Daniel kicked her in the face, and she limply fell unconscious, before he took a moment to collect himself and his thoughts. They fell silent for a moment before he spoke again. "…I want you to treat her wound, make sure she doesn't bleed out… and then tie her back up…"

"...You want her to live, sir…?" An Octoling asked, somewhat confused.

"...Just do it…"

They nodded, and awkwardly dragged her out, creating a trail of ink as they dragged her to the medical room.

Daniel watched her leave, a disappointed expression on his face.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**Tenta-General Hospital**

Jessica was still tied down to her hospital bed, as she woke back up for the day. She hadn't gotten much sleep, only a couple hours, as she had been up for a good amount of the night in deep thought. She had a horrible feeling that she knew exactly how the Underdogs were still active. And if she was right, it was another direct consequence of her own actions. She never should have left Daniel behind under Vanessa's watch. Especially with how… angry, Vanessa seemed lately.

She sat up to her best ability. Surprisingly, she was already feeling better. She didn't know if the sanitization inside her was once again healing her, but it'd make sense, given that the stomach wound Ward left was relatively minor compared to what she had been through previously. Wasn't too different from the time when she injured her leg in a mission but was back on her feet in just a couple hours. She didn't realize she still had partial sanitization at the time, but she supposed now she had an explanation.

She wasn't alone for long, however. After a few minutes of the usual silence, the door suddenly opened, and Johnson stepped in, holding a tray of food. She squinted a bit at him, confused. The door closed back up, leaving the two alone.

"...Breakfast." He told her, holding it up a bit to show.

"...You're my nurse now?"

"No. But I asked her to be the one to serve it to you." He went over and set it on the stand next to her, before he took a key out and uncuffed one of her hands.

"...Isn't there some rules against that?"

"Well, I'm a high ranking police officer. They can't say no to me."

"Whatever…" She grabbed the tray with her free hand and set it on her lap.

He pulled up a chair and sat down just like their previous meeting. "…You saw the broadcast, I'm guessing?"

"...Who didn't?"

"...You think it was your brother?"

"...I do. Again, everything that's happening is my fault."

"Don't be like that."

"Why not? I told you how I treated him."

"The fact that you told me as much as you did is part of the reason why I trust you. And I think I got Hertz to share some of that trust. But just for a bit."

She looked at him.

"We want to make a deal with you." He leaned in. "You're going to help us find your brother, and put a stop to the Underdogs. We'll let you come with us so that we can use your skills. You'll still be in our custody and we'll be keeping a very close eye on you, and if you attempt to escape or fight us, I have permission to put you down. And if you cooperate with us until this is over, you'll get your sentence reduced. That's all I could get out of Hertz, and it took me an hour to persuade him of that much. That's the best I can do."

"...You don't have to reduce my sentence."

"It's the deal, regardless. We don't make deals like this with criminals very often, Agent 3."

She thought about it. "...Here's my bargain."

"...What?"

"I'll help you. Not for you, but for me. I'll get to be the one who takes my brother in. And after we're done, instead of reducing my charges, you reduce the charges of all my friends. Especially Cuttlefish."

"...I already told you I got all I could get out of Hertz. I'm not sure he'll take kindly to-"

"Do you want my help, or not?"

"I do. I think we need it."

"Then take it or leave it."

He sighed. "…I can't promise that you get what you want. That would likely be more work than I can pull off. But, regardless, we need your help. Now, more than ever."

She sighed. Not like she had much of a choice, either. "…Just promise me then that you'll do what you can… they don't deserve what they got like I do…"

"...You have my word…"

"...Then it's a deal…"

"Well, then first thing's first…" He suddenly stood up, went over to the opposite side of the bed, and uncuffed her opposite hand. "Stand up."

She sat up a bit. "…Why?"

"I need to see how you're holding up in combat."

She sighed, and decided to just do it. She slid her feet over the edge of the bed, and slowly sat up as if she expected herself to get weak as soon as she was up. Surprisingly for both of them, however, she was standing up just fine, as if she was never injured.

"...Alright…" He was impressed, and held up his hand. "Hit me."

"...Excuse me?"

"I can take it. Hit me."

She took a deep breath, and steadied herself as if she was training. She felt like she was actually training with Cuttlefish again. Suddenly, she lunged her fist forward without warning, in one swift and powerful punch, enough to hurt his hand.

He winced a bit, but held up his other hand, wanting to test her. "Keep going."

She decided to keep the flow, walking forward as she punched both hands, with great speed and accuracy. Johnson backed up and let her do it, and after a few seconds, she finished off her flurry with a sudden roundhouse kick, just to help her release some of her pent up energy.

Johnson just about toppled over from the last kick, but stayed on his feet. Jessica wasn't even sweating. She did hurt her stomach a bit, and had her hand over it, but otherwise looked good.

"…I think you're good to go…" He nodded a bit. "…Where'd you get your training, anyway?"

"Cuttlefish. Years worth of it, and direct experience, too."

"I could tell…"

She was already feeling more confident. "...So… when do we start?"

"As soon as we know where we're going."

"...I may know a place…"

* * *

**New Underdogs Hideout**

Vanessa panted and groaned as she came back to, her leg still hurting like hell. Her knee was still straight up missing. She was lying on a table in the base's medical room, and an Octoling doctor was standing over her. She looked at her in fear.

Daniel walked in at that moment, having heard Vanessa's groans. "…How is she?"

"...She'll be missing her knee." The doctor replied. "May need a prosthetic. But she'll be fine otherwise."

"Don't touch me…" Vanessa responded. She was feeling pretty weak thanks to how much ink she had lost. "…I'd rather die than watch you destroy the city…"

"...It's not up to you." Daniel responded simply.

"...What do you want from me…?"

"...I just don't want to see you die. Maybe a part of me wants you to see Jessica die. Maybe I want you to die with the rest of the city. Honestly, my own mind is… hard to follow…"

"Now I need you to hold still." The doctor said, holding up a syringe with some kind of green goo in it.

Vanessa looked over at her, her eyes widening. "…What is that?"

Daniel looked at her, actually equally as confused. "…Is that…?"

"It's the sanitization formula, yes." She responded. "I'm giving her a very small dose, just enough to help her heal."

"I said… don't touch me…" Vanessa responded.

"You've had that this whole time?" Daniel asked. He reached forward to poke it, ensuring to himself that it was real.

"Only small amounts of it." The doctor responded, preparing it. "Deangelo wanted some in case he ever got injured."

"I hear it's some nasty stuff." He replied. "You sure you wanna give it to her?"

"It won't be enough to cause problems. It affects Inklings differently than it affects Octolings anyway."

"...Ok…" He sighed.

"Don't… touch me…" Vanessa hissed again when she saw she was preparing to inject it.

"Hold still." Despite what Vanessa wanted, she suddenly thrusted it into her leg, and carefully injected a small dosage. Vanessa grunted and groaned in pain, but it wasn't long before she pulled it back out and went to put it back in the bio-hazard box where it came from.

Vanessa was still panting from the pain, looking at Daniel. "…I'm going… to kill you…"

"...Kill me how?" Daniel replied.

"...I'll find a way…"

He scoffed slightly. "…We'll see." He then turned to head out.

"Jessica will find you if I can't!" She suddenly yelled. "You will suffer!"

He ignored her and walked out, heading back into the large main room of the warehouse. As he was expecting, multiple trucks had just drove in, and groups of Octolings stepped out. His new Octoling assistant went up to Daniel's side, and he turned to her. "…This is them?"

"All the remaining Underdogs we could round up. A lot of the organization fled the city after Ayesha and Ward perished, but everyone who remains are still loyal to our cause. Inkling leader or not." She explained.

She was right. The organization wasn't nearly as big as it was with Ward in command, but it still felt good, standing in front of what remained as their leader. He smiled slightly.

"We want to see the weapon." An Octoling in the group requested. "So that we may know we can trust you."

"We have it hidden uptown. It's already set up underground and set for detonation when we see fit." He responded.

"Then take us to it."

He nodded, and then raised his voice to announce the address to the whole warehouse. The Octolings replied with an Octarian chant, before they all got back into their trucks. Daniel grinned again, before he ushered to his assistant to follow him as he went to his own truck.

Unbeknownst to him, Vanessa had been listening in as best as she could, but was unable to do much as the doctor suddenly turned and put her under sedation.

* * *

**Later**

**Tenta-General Hospital**

Johnson cocked his gun as he grouped up with his team, forming a circle with them. They were all equipped in body armor. "Alright… let's go over the plan again."

They nodded to show that they were listening.

"We're infiltrating the Underdogs base that Murdock gave us. We'll all be going in pairs, and I will be paired with Murdock so that I can keep an eye on her. We'll all be on guard, and if need be, we'll take out anyone we can inside. Our main mission is to find clues on where to go next, and to ultimately find Daniel Murdock. You've all memorized his face?"

They nodded.

"This may turn out to be a series of missions. But I know that we can put a stop to this once and for all. We're the IPD, and we have Murdock on our side. So I want you all to keep the faith."

"Yes, sir." They all nodded once more.

"Good." He turned to the guards by Jessica's hospital room. "Let Murdock out."

They nodded and opened the door, letting Jessica out. She now had a change of clothes, but her hands were still cuffed together for the time being, and the guards were holding her. "Let's go."

He nodded and turned to lead them out. "We're heading out!"

They all headed out of the hospital, got past security and an army of reporters, before they all climbed into police cars and drove off.

Jessica was seated next to Johnson, while the still armed guards watched her closely from the back seat. In fact, they looked ready to blow her head off if she so much as raised her hands.

Johnson noticed and sighed, but didn't take his eyes off the road. "…At ease, guys."

"...You trust killer vigilantes often, Sergeant?" Jessica decided to ask.

"Nope. First time."

"...What are you gonna do if this goes south and you lose your job because of me?"

"...I suppose I'd figure it out. That's all any of us can do, anyway."

"...You sure I'm worth that?"

"...We'll have to see." They fell into silence for a moment before he spoke again. "…We can equip you with some of our armor, if you-"

"I told you I'm good." She cut him off.

"If this _does_ go south, you're gonna want it."

"...And if it comes down to me and Daniel, I want a fair fight."

"...Not like he's given you a fair fight before, from what you've told me. Besides, you're willing to leave the fate of the city up to a 'fair fight'?"

"Well, if it's a fair fight, I might just be able to kick his ass… I'm better than him at close-quarters combat when I'm actually capable of fighting, I think our encounters so far have shown that much."

"...What if he's trained more? Or what if you get another seizure?"

She sighed. "…If I die, Sergeant, than boohoo, I'm sure someone else will take him down. Just make sure you finish it for me if that happens."

He sighed as well. "…Copy that…"

She looked forward at the road.

It wasn't too much longer before they were all pulling up to Deangelo's base, but they all stopped some distance away with the hope of not attracting much attention. Everyone in the team got out, including Jessica.

Johnson went around the car and uncuffed her, before handing her a spare weapon. "…I'll be keeping my eye on you."

"Understood." She replied simply. Honestly, to her, this wasn't even that different from her actual Agent 3 days, so her anxiety levels remained low. She held it at her side in a non-threatening manner.

"Alright, let's move!" Johnson then called out, before they all headed toward the warehouse.

* * *

They took a few minutes to actually arrive, as they remained stealthy, but as soon as they were inside the warehouse, they all took up their defensive position. Jessica stayed close to Johnson, just to stay obedient to their rules. The warehouse seemed pretty empty at first glance.

"...Split up." He loudly whispered to everyone, and each pair dispersed, as Johnson led Jessica.

All of the trucks that were there previously were gone, leaving no signs of life. A couple officers came across a dried up puddle of Deangelo's ink, that had been left there from when Daniel shot him.

A couple other officers entered what was now Daniel's office, and they saw some weapons that he had left behind, along with more dried up ink, this time belonging to Vanessa.

Yet another pair eventually came across the hidden vault that Daniel forced Deangelo to open, and another pair came across the now-destroyed computer servers.

_"All clear."_

_"All clear."_

_"All clear." _The same line could be heard over their radio as more and more pairs concluded their split up searches.

"Keep looking for clues. Anything we can use." Johnson responded as he continued his own search with Jessica.

_"Copy that."_

The pair was getting into their own unexplored territory of the warehouse, walking down their own hallway, as Jessica kicked down all the doors that they passed, before holding up her weapon in anticipation of an attack. As they got deeper into the hallway, they were actually getting more isolated from everyone else. It _seemed_ more and more that they were alone. That is, until she kicked down the door to the medical room. Her eyes widened a bit when she saw inside.

Vanessa was unconscious and still strapped to the table, her knee where she got shot bandaged up to the doctor's best ability. The doctor herself, however, wasn't there.

"Vanessa…" Jessica lowered her gun and ran over to her, trying to shake her awake in vain.

Johnson examined her, also lowering his weapon. "…Looks like she's sedated."

"Shit…" She sighed. "…Well… this basically confirms that Daniel was here… I shouldn't have fucking left them alone…"

"...You did what you thought was right."

"...Did I?"

* * *

Meanwhile, the rest of the officers were still searching the rest of the warehouse, not realizing that a small group of Octolings, including the doctor, were stepping back inside, wearing masks. They snuck in, weapons raised, as they split up.

It took several seconds for the first officer to notice, but as soon as he turned around and saw one, he jumped. "WE HAVE COMP-"

The Octoling that was behind him fired at his head with great accuracy, and the rest of the officers were clued in. They started firing back at forth at each other, resulting in an entire shootout.

* * *

The shootout could be heard all the way where Jessica and Johnson were, and Johnson peeked his head out of the room.

"What?" Jessica turned to him.

"...We're under attack."

"Shit…"

He turned back to her. He would join the fighting, but they did currently have an injured woman on their hands. "We need to get her out of here."

She nodded in agreement and went to untie Vanessa from the table. "Keep me covered, I'm gonna have to carry her."

"I've got you." He kept his gun on the door just in case, as Jessica got Vanessa untied and then slung her over her shoulder. They stepped out of the room, Johnson protecting them, as they started searching for an exit.

* * *

Despite the Underdog's training, the Octolings that had reentered the warehouse were simply too outnumbered, and were losing the shootout with the police, more and more of them getting shot and collapsing. Unfortunately for everyone, however, it was just about to get worse.

Just as victory was looking certain for the police, a loud ringing sound suddenly filled the whole warehouse, and the surviving Octolings suddenly screamed in pain and collapsed, writhing in pain. The police looked at them in confusion, some of them covering their ears, as ink started to pour from the Octoling's mouths and their abdomens started to bulge a bit.

"...Something's happening!" An officer spoke into the radio as he watched.

Only a few more moments passed before the Octolings suddenly erupted, large metal spikes protruding from all of them at once, immediately turning them into gory messes as they quickly expanded and began to overtake the whole building.

"What the fuck!?" Someone screamed.

"Move, move, move, move!" The police all began fleeing to the nearest exit.

* * *

Johnson and Jessica turned as they heard the chaos, and Jessica definitely recognized the sound. "…The attackers are self-destructing." She quickly concluded.

"...What does that mean!?" Johnson asked.

"It means we need to move!" She sped up into a run, still carrying Vanessa, as Johnson followed her down the hall. There was no doors or exits down this path, but there was windows for them to smash, and Johnson quickly and desperately shot at the first one they saw, shattering it.

Jessica crawled through first, making sure to not hurt Vanessa, and Johnson leaped in after her, before they got clear of the building. The same metal spikes were growing into the hallway at that moment, still expanding and growing more spikes as it took over the entire building like a bad flood. Only when the entire building was basically destroyed, did the spikes slow down into a halt. Johnson watched silently, and Jessica put Vanessa down onto the grass, catching her breath.

"...My men were in there…" Johnson said.

"...Maybe they made it out…"

"I've gotta go look for them. Stay here." He started heading off with the intention of searching the building's perimeter.

"We won't be safe here and I'm not leaving Vanessa! There could be more people coming! We need to get her out of here!" She stopped him.

He turned to her, realizing that was true. But he wasn't gonna leave behind his team, either. They fell into a stressful silence, as Johnson thought about his next move. He didn't like it at all, but perhaps...

"...You go. Get her out of here." He told her.

"What?"

"Get her someplace safe. And if you can, find your brother and put a stop to this."

"...You'll lose your job if you do this."

That was probably true too. But he had other priorities at the moment. "…Just go!" With that, he took off running, disappearing around the corner of the building.

Jessica watched him leave, surprised, before she realized she had to turn her focus back on the mission. Once again alone, she picked Vanessa up, slung her over her shoulder, and ran off.


	26. Judgement Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All hope seems lost as the clock ticks toward mass destruction, but Cap'n Cuttlefish has something to say about it first.

Johnson made his way around the building after Jessica left, stepping over broken glass and such as he searched desperately for his team. "…Guys!" He turned another corner of the building. "Guys!"

"We're here!" Another officer replied, with a group of the surviving officers. Unfortunately, not everyone made it out alive, and one of them was badly injured, bleeding heavily from the leg. "We need medical attention!" She shouted at him as she carried the injured.

He ran up, speaking into his radio as he did. "We need a medic! Now!" He stood over them as he approached them. "Tie up his leg, try and slow down that ink flow!"

Another officer tore off a part of his shirt, wrapping it around the injured leg to do so while they waited for actual medical help.

The female officer looked around, before she stood up, facing Johnson. "…Where's Murdock?"

* * *

**The Orphanage**

The sounds of screaming, playing children filled the foyer of the orphanage, as orphaned kids ran around playing tag with each other. Dana came in, sighing as she smiled a little, before she picked up and rang a bell. "Alright, everyone! It's time for dinner!"

"Are you serving chili again?" A kid asked as most of them stopped what they were doing and ran to the kitchen.

"Yes, I am." She smiled.

He sighed. "Dammit…"

"Hey. Watch your language. You know the rule. Come on. Let's go eat." She took his hand to start leading him there, when suddenly, she heard someone aggressively bang on the front door. She looked behind her, while the kid jumped a bit in fear. "…It's fine, honey, just go eat. I'll see who it is and you won't have to worry about it. Ok?"

"...Ok…" He ran off to the kitchen.

She smiled and watched him leave, before the door was banged on again. "I'm coming!" She went over and unlocked it, opening one half. To her surprise, she was met with a bruised-looking Jessica, holding an also bruised and unconscious Vanessa over her shoulder. "…Jessica!?"

"She needs help!" Jessica speedily entered, catching the attention of some kids.

The room fell into silence as Dana and the orphans just stared at her.

"...Don't just stand there, get us a room!" She suddenly snapped, causing Dana to jump and lead them away.

* * *

As soon as Dana let them into an empty bedroom, she laid Vanessa down on the bed, before she tiredly collapsed onto a nearby chair.

Dana followed them in and closed the door. "What happened?"

"I think she's been shot… I think she's missing a knee and she's been unconscious for who knows how long now…" She panted.

"I'm calling John!" She went over to a table and grabbed a home phone, but Jessica got up as well, taking it from her and smashing it against the wall. Instead of swearing in surprise like a normal person would, she just stared at her.

"We're likely being hunted! We need to lay low." Jessica explained.

"...By who?"

"...My brother now seems to be the grand Kingpin of the Underdogs and I imagine he wants both of us dead… if not him, then the police will be after us. Johnson let me go, but I imagine that's a temporary privilege. I would've taken her to the bunker, but I need someone actually trust-worthy to watch her this time. I know you have _some_ medical experience…"

"...I can stitch people up if there's no one else to do it, but that's not much…"

"...That's good enough…" She sat back down. "…I don't think I'll be staying… I'm gonna wait until she's awake so I can ask her what happened and then I'm gone again…"

"You don't have to leave so soon… you know this is a safe place, Jessica."

"Well, I'm putting you in danger by staying here and I have a job to do… so…"

She sighed, looking down as she put her hands on her hips.

"...I'm sorry… for coming to you so suddenly..."

"No, no, it's fine." She sat down on the edge of the bed, looking Vanessa over a bit. "You know that I'm always willing to help you two… and after everything that's been happening lately… I had to convince all the kids here that the recent broadcast wasn't anything to be afraid of. That it was just silly TV."

"...It's not…" Jessica replied.

"...I know it's not. I have a pretty good idea of what you've been up against lately, Jessica. I've been keeping a close eye on the news. You're pretty popular these days."

"...I wish I wasn't… I wish I had… stayed 'dead'… better yet… I wish I had just actually died…"

"...Then who would be our protector?"

"Bridgett sure looked like she was ready to step up to the plate. Things probably would've worked out fine…"

"...Or, have you considered the fact that if you never came back, things could've been much, much worse?"

Jessica didn't respond to that, and only looked at her. They paused for a moment, before she spoke again. "…You haven't heard, have you? About some of the things I've done?"

"...I have…" She nodded, somewhat awkwardly. "…I don't know how to feel about that…" She admitted.

"...Then you can see that I'm not some protector. I'm not some hero. I'm just… I don't know what I am… and I haven't for a long time…"

"...Well… I also believe it's more complicated than that."

She sighed. "Sure you do…"

"I do. The people you… killed… were all horrible people who had it coming. Weren't they? And I know they weren't your first, either."

She looked down, unable to come up with a response this time, before Vanessa suddenly gasped next to them as she awoke. She turned to her. "Vanessa?"

Vanessa looked around, apparently in some kind of fight-or-flight, panting heavily. "…D-Daniel…"

"Vanessa." She stood up and over her before she put her hands on her shoulders to hold her still. "I'm not Daniel. I'm Jessica. You know me. You're safe now…"

"I-I'm not safe… not safe… we're not safe…"

"Vanessa, I need to know, what happened? I know you set Daniel free, and I'm not gonna freak out about it, but I need to know where to find him. Do you understand? Do you hear me?"

"...Y-You don't understand… he has the nanotech weapon…"

She froze.

"...He's gonna destroy… everything…" She started tearing up. "I let him do it… but I couldn't stop him…"

Dana was covering her mouth as she watched and listened to what was happening, while Jessica just stood in an anxiety-filled silence.

Vanessa's crying was getting more intense. "We'll all be dead by tomorrow…"

"...Where did he go?" Jessica finally asked.

* * *

The new Underdogs hideout was an abandoned, incomplete building in the center of Inkopolis, that had been bought out by Hugh Ward some time ago. It didn't take Daniel long at all to lead his new team into the building, where he led them to an incomplete elevator that led them somewhat deep underground. Daniel held his hands behind his own back as he waited patiently for it to descend all the way, while his now loyal Underdogs stood behind him.

"...I've gotta warn you, people…" He spoke up. "What happens next… won't be for the faint of heart."

"There is no faint of heart here." The Octoling behind him replied.

He smiled. To be honest, he was loving this job. Probably only because it made him finally feel purpose, but still. "…In that case…"

As soon as the elevator reached the basement's lowest point, they all stepped out, and Daniel led them to the main room, where the massive nanotech weapon was sitting in the center, guarded by some Octolings.

"Sir." They responded as he walked up.

Daniel walked up to it, admiring it, before he stepped to the side to let everyone get a look. "…It's beautiful… isn't it?"

"...It's only because of you, that the people of Inkopolis will finally feel pain." The Octoling said. "Even if you are an Inkling… we must thank you."

"Nah… don't thank me… I mean… for the first time in… forever, I'm finally feeling like I have a family… people who look up to me. Or… maybe I should be more frank, people who… worship me. And soon, the city will collapse into a giant heap of dust and metal, and my sister will go down with it."

"The vigilante?"

He nodded.

"...How soon can we detonate the weapon?" Another Octoling asked.

"...Well, not right this second. We have to send out another message first, letting them descend into chaos before the destruction hits. That's what Ward wanted, right?"

"It is."

He nodded. Again, voices in the back of Daniel's head were telling him to stop this and turn away, but he ignored them to his best ability. "…Think we can send that second message out today?"

"We can."

He thought about it, looking back at the weapon. A horrifying idea was just popping up in his head. "…You know what…? It doesn't even have to be Ward's message…"

"...Sir?" Another Octoling asked.

"...This is Judgement Day…" He rubbed the weapon a bit. "…I want to record a new message. I want them to know that today is the day everyone dies. We'll send it out as soon as it's ready, we'll have a few hours of chaos, and then we'll detonate the weapon at midnight. My sister… will die at midnight."

The Octolings looked at each other. They didn't quite expect that. But at the same time, no one had any arguments.

"...Sound good?" Daniel looked around again.

They all thought about it for another moment, before they replied with an Octarian chant.

He smiled. "...Then let's get started."

* * *

**Inkopolis Police Station**

"...What… the… utteral… hell… HAPPENED!?" Hertz screamed as Johnson and his team arrived back at that station.

"...We got ambushed." Johnson replied.

"By Murdock!? I gave you permission to let that rat go, and she turned on you!? Who had a feeling that would happen and decided to trust you anyway!? ME! Who has trusted you, for YEARS!"

"Slow down. Murdock didn't turn on us, I had my eye on her the whole time."

"Then how'd she escape!?"

He sighed, trying to slow down the conversation so he could start at the beginning. "…We got ambushed by Underdogs. I was with Murdock at the time, and we had found a young woman who needed medical attention."

"That still doesn't explain how she got away under your watch."

"...She deemed it too unsafe for the woman to stick around, since I needed to regroup with my team. I…" He looked around at his team members, and they all fell into a painful silence. "…I willingly let her go."

They all somehow fell even more silent, while Hertz stared at him as if he had fire in his eyes.

He was gonna lose his job, Johnson could tell by that look. "…I made a last-minute decision under stressful circumstances with limited time, but… that does not excuse my reckless behavior, sir. I willingly let her go, and I… accept any consequences that may bring."

They fell silent for another solid minute, and Hertz clearly looked betrayed. He raised his finger and was about to announce to the whole police department that Johnson was fired, but they were interrupted before he could.

"Sir!" An officer pointed up to the TV.

They all stopped what they were doing and walked up to it, seeing the Underdogs symbol once again. "Shit!" Hertz finally said something.

"...Not again…" Johnson replied.

As all eyes in the station were soon turned to the TV, the picture finally changed, this time to a more poorly-recorded video of Daniel.

_"People of Inkopolis." _Daniel mimicked Ward's tone of voice as best he could.

* * *

Again, all panicked eyes in Inkopolis were turned on the video just like with the previous one, as the afternoon sun was setting on the city.

_"My name is Daniel Murdock. I doubt you've ever heard of me before, but, you probably recognize the surname. You're about to know full well who I am." _A picture of Jessica in Octo Valley came on screen. _"I am the brother of Jessica Murdock. You know her as Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. But I'm also more than just his sister. I am now a part of the Underdogs. I'm their leader, now that Hugh Ward is gone. I want you all to know, right now… that my sister is exactly what you feared her to be. She is a murderer and a bully. As much as it hurts me to say, she was the one who murdered her own family, in our beautiful Lishawn County. My family. Now, she has murdered Hugh Ward as well."_

It turned back to his face. _"…As a consequence of her actions, you will all soon feel the weight of her errors. Today is your judgement day."_

* * *

"DAAAANAAAA!" A crying, frightened girl cried out at the orphanage as she, along with basically every other kid in the orphanage, were gathered around their own TV.

Only now did Dana and Jessica leave Vanessa's side and walk into the room, and Jessica's eyes widened as she saw the TV. "…Daniel…" She only got a glimpse of his face for a few seconds, however, as the video turned to edited footage of Inkling-created disasters throughout history, just like the previous video did.

_"In the next few hours, as you all scramble in fear, the city will descend into chaos, before midnight strikes. At midnight, you will all die." _It cut to a recording of the nanotech weapon, and then older videos of Octolings bursting open from the nanotech bombs inside of them, as he explained what it was over the footage._ "There will be no hiding, and there will be no salvation."_

As the threatening message continued, Dana panicked and started to get the terrified children out of the room, while Jessica listened intently.

* * *

_"As you experience your final hours, I want you to keep Hugh Ward and the Underdogs in mind." _Daniel continued on the IPD station screen, as all the police continued to watch. _"…I want you to keep me and my sister in mind. And I hope you can prepare yourselves… for whatever's on the other side. I even hope it'll be a relieving experience for you. The countdown to midnight starts now. My name is Daniel Murdock. And we are the Underdogs."_

Finally, the TV shut down, leaving the police station in silence. Even Hertz was painfully silent again.

They stood like this for a few minutes, drinking it all in, before Johnson turned to him. He hadn't been fired yet, so he still had a job to do. "…Orders, sir?"

Hertz was staring down at the floor, at a loss for words.

"...Sir, orders?"

"...I want you to send out an evacuation order. For the whole city." He finally spoke.

"...What about the Underdogs?"

He fell silent again. He didn't even have an answer for that. In fact, now he was thinking about all the mistakes the police had made to even get them here, and a general feeling of dread washed over the room.

"...Sir…?"

He slowly turned to them. "…I want you all to help get as many civilians out as you can. All of you."

Most the police quickly nodded and headed off, while Johnson stared at him, silently. Then, Hertz simply walked off, leaving Johnson to himself. He had one last idea left. And it was probably going to be their final hope.

"Let's move, people!" Some officers commanded as people started emptying the station. Johnson followed them out.

* * *

**Several Minutes Later**

The streets of Inkopolis were now in absolute chaos as the sun set. Basically every Inkling, Octoling, Jellyfish, or any species of any kind were fleeing from their homes, backing up traffic to a halt and filling the sidewalks with panicking people. Helicopters flew over the city, including outside help at this point, as multiple fires throughout the city had been started, filling the night air with smoke and the sound of alarms. It was as if the city was slowly falling apart.

At the Inkopolis prison, chaos was also unfolding, as many prisoners started riots inside their own cells. The guards simply kept watch in the halls, while refusing to let them out, occasionally acting to hold back any hostile prisoners.

Johnson quickly made his way past security, walking down the halls with a younger guard.

"Sir, I-I don't know if we have permission to-"

"Forget about permission." Johnson interrupted him, walking as fast as possible. "I'm a Sergeant now and all I'm asking is one prisoner release."

"S-Sergeant or not, I can't just-"

"The city is falling to pieces!" He suddenly turned to him. "And if the threat is true and we don't do something about it, we'll all be dead in a matter of hours!"

"...I-I understand that, b-but I don't think I have the-"

"I don't need you to worry about clearance, right now, officer! We're on the verge of anarchy and the Captain isn't giving me orders at the moment, so just give me the DAMN KEY!"

Down the hall from where they were, Cap'n Cuttlefish was sitting alone in his prison cell, and he wasn't looking so good these days. His prison cell was uncomfortable, his hygiene had down a bit and he looked even more like a hipster with his longer beard, and all he had for entertainment was a stack of books nearby. He was sitting there silently, in direct contrast to the chaos outside his cell, but that doesn't mean his mind wasn't racing.

His mind was filled with frantic, panicked thoughts of where his granddaughters were, where Jessica was, and even about the rest of the Splatoon, rather than his own life. He couldn't even truly focus on any one singular thought, his mind was moving too fast and he was too old. As he shakily and desperately gripped his cane for comfort, Johnson came up to his cell, also seeming desperate as he fumbled with the guard's key and frantically opened his cell.

He sighed. "…Bucko, if you're here to ask me more questions about Agent 3 I don't know what to tell you…"

Johnson stepped in. "…Well, then I hope you know how to find her."

He looked at her. "…I'm not leading you to her."

"I never said you have to." He suddenly tossed him a change of clothes.

Cuttlefish looked down at the clothes, and then back up at Johnson, surprised.

"...Well, what are you staring at!? Let's get moving!" Johnson pressured.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

**The Orphanage**

At the orphanage, people were also in chaos, as Dana was trying her hardest to gather every single kid in the building, while Jessica helped Vanessa out of her room, who was limping as she held onto her. The TV was now broadcasting an ongoing EAS message, detailing the evacuation orders.

"...This is all my fault…" Vanessa shuddered as she was seated at a couch.

"Worry about it later." Jessica replied, as she went over to Dana. Some of the children she was trying to round up were crying, scared out of their minds. "You'll get those kids out of the city? With Vanessa?"

"I-I'll try my hardest… I'm trying to contact John…" Dana replied, also freaked out.

"Listen…" She put her hands on her shoulders, trying her best to calm her down. "Just focus on their safety firsthand. Don't worry about anything else. Don't worry about me, just focus on the ones you care about. I know you can get them out."

She took deep breaths.

"...You're a savior, Dana. Alright?" She continued.

"...Alright…" She nodded.

She gave her the briefest hug ever, before she went back to Vanessa, kneeling down next to her. "…You're gonna be leaving with Dana. She'll be taking care of you."

"...I take it you're not leaving…?" She replied.

"...You know I'm not."

"...You remember the address I gave you, then…?"

"Yes. Just… don't worry about me. Alright?"

"...You don't have anything to take them on with, though… they'll kill you…"

She looked down and fell into silence. That was indeed true. The odds were heavily stacked against her, and she probably wasn't gonna make it out of this alive if she stayed.

"...Just… answer one last thing for me, then…" Vanessa continued.

"...What?"

"...Those moments that we shared… did you… mean those…?"

"...I mean… They probably weren't ideal… or smart… but I… um…" She sighed. "Look… if it provides you any comfort, I did enjoy them. A lot. So I don't necessarily regret it."

"...But you… prefer Bridgett… don't you…?"

She fell silent.

"Come on… I heard the way you two talked about each other… and I saw the way you looked at each other…"

"...Well, I'm probably not ever gonna see her again… so… all I can do now is hope that she's safe."

"I'm just saying… it's ok… maybe we weren't meant to be…"

"...No… maybe we weren't."

She stared at her for a moment and, knowing they probably weren't ever gonna see each other again either, leaned in to give her a last, passionate kiss, while Dana watched. Jessica didn't fight it, and even tenderly returned it, but she didn't hold it for long.

"...I'm sorry…" Vanessa finally told her afterward. "…For everything…"

"...Me too." With that, she stood up, shooting a last look at Dana.

Dana just gave her a last nod, and Jessica nodded back, before she headed to the door.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

As all of the chaos was unfurling in Inkopolis, Daniel and the Underdogs were still underground beneath their tower, as Daniel watched the news on his phone. It was showing footage of police cars and people panicking on the streets, while fires burned nearby buildings in the backdrop.

"...This is exactly what Ward wanted, huh?" He asked.

An Octoling simply nodded.

"...Well… I suppose it's time, then. Start the countdown, I want this thing set to detonate at midnight like we discussed."

He nodded, and a couple Octolings went over the weapon, tinkering with the control panel. Daniel stood by and watched, until a red timer began counting down on its screen. Some lights on the rest of the weapon began lighting up and fading on and off out of sync, creating a pattern and the illusion that the light was moving. The countdown only had a few hours left.

"We're ready for detonation." The Octoling said.

"...We gonna evacuate?" Another one asked.

"...No…" Daniel replied simply. "We're staying here…"

They looked at each other, growing a bit nervous, but most of them seemed pretty resigned to the fate.

"...One more thing." Daniel continued.

They looked at him.

"The IPD sent an evacuation order. Too many people are trying to get out."

"The airport shouldn't be active." An Octoling replied.

"...I want you to get all of our fighter helicopters ready. Blow out any roads that lead to escape, especially the bridges. I also want you to keep a hold on any outside help or anyone who tries to escape on foot or by super jump."

"...Understood." He nodded, and some Octolings headed out to follow his commands.

Daniel continued rubbing the weapon a bit. "…Just a few more hours, Jessica…"

* * *

**Later**

Although it took a while, thanks to traffic, Johnson soon regrouped with his fellow officers, by a bridge that led outside of the city. The officers that were there were working on evacuating as many people as they could. He speedily got out of the car, walking up to them. "Officers!"

"Where the hell have you been!?" Another officer asked.

"Something came up."

"Something more important than _this_!?"

"Potentially! How are we looking?"

He looked around. "…We're not doing good. There's too many people. We'll never even get a fraction of the city evacuated at the rate we're moving!"

He looked back toward the traffic that surrounded them, and then back to the city, which was still literally on fire. "...We'll have to keep trying our hardest!"

They kept trying to slowly evacuate as many civilians as possible, up until a helicopter flew over, shining its light down at them. They all looked up at it.

"...Is that ours?" Someone asked.

"...I don't think so."

The helicopter casually floated above them for about a minute, as if staring at them, before it flew over and hovered above the bridge.

"...What it is it doing?"

To their surprise, the helicopter quickly turned out to be that of Octarian technology, and before they knew it, a slot opened up, before multiple bombs fell from it.

Johnson gasped. "MOVE, MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

Fiery explosions quickly erupted on the bridge, incinerating anyone who was unlucky enough to be within the direct blast radius, before even more bombs rained down, rocking the bridge.

The police desperately moved themselves and anyone they could pull back out of the way, as the bridge continued swaying by the barrage of explosions. It wasn't too long before the ropes that helped stabilize the bridge were giving out, and its very foundation began to crumble, as it began to crumble into the lake below, along with all the cars and people on it.

All Johnson could do was stare, wide-eyed, before the helicopter moved on.

It wasn't just that bridge, either. Several helicopters had already been dispatched, and were attacking all the bridges and exits to prevent further escape, while extra helicopters and Octarian jets took care of any opposite fighting forces that were in the air. As such, the city was sent spiraling even further into chaos, as the Underdogs managed to bomb down opposite helicopters or even jets, sending them circling down to the streets where they promptly exploded upon contact with the ground.

* * *

**Two Hours From Detonation**

As the chaos burned the streets of Inkopolis, Jessica had meanwhile hit yet another low point, as she silently stepped into the currently empty Inkopolis Plaza. What Vanessa had told her was right; currently, thanks to her arrest, she was completely powerless, and had no weapons or gear on her. Not even her spear. Walking into the Underdogs hideout was a death trap in her current state. And everyone in the city that she was supposed to protect, even her friends, were now doomed to death. And thanks to the Underdog's more recent attacks, she had even been blocked off from accessing Cuttlefish Bunker.

There was one last hiding spot that the Underdogs weren't really thinking to block off, and that was the sewer entrance in the plaza that led straight to Octo Valley. Looking around to make sure there was no helicopter that could see her, she slipped in through the grate, before quickly navigating the sewer until she arrived at Cuttlefish's shack in the Valley itself.

She looked around. The vibe to the area was now different than she was used to, since the sky was an unpleasant tint of red, as smoke from the Inkopolis fires were still filling the air, even back here. Despite the chaos, though, this area was eerily silent, or maybe that was just because she had been navigating the city beforehand. She sighed, walking up to the shack itself.

She looked around for a bit, for something, anything she could use against the Underdogs. So far, all she was able to find was the notes Cuttlefish had about their prior hunt against the Underdogs, back from when the NSS was still an active thing. But otherwise, the area had been abandoned and left to rot. Not a single weapon or anything useful remained.

Panic started to sweep over her: the type of panic she hadn't exactly felt since her apartment got bombed. That feeling of utter, absolute helplessness and anxiety. A small sound escaped her mouth, as she desperately tried to keep herself calm. She took a deep breath. "…I'm invulnerable… I am Jessica Murdock… the one… the only… Agent 3… come on… the one… the only… I am invulnerable… I am invulnerable…"

But that line was no longer working like it used to. She wasn't invulnerable. She wasn't Agent 3. She had let everyone she cared about down, and now she had nothing and no one. She was just… Jessica. The sad, helpless, orphaned child. And that's all she felt like deep inside now. Tears started streaming down her face as her mind collapsed into a full-blown panic attack, and she shakily and slowly sank herself down, her back against the shack as she took desperate deep breaths. How had it all come to this?

She sat like this for who knows how long, unable to keep herself contained, before she heard a simple _plop_ at the grate. Gasping slightly, she slowly looked up and over.

Cap'n Cuttlefish was standing there, watching her, his usual cane in one hand and a somewhat large suitcase in the other, although he still looked just as hairy as he did in the prison. They stood in silence, staring at each other, as a wordless relief washed over her.

"...Cuttlefish…?" She stood up. It felt unbelievably good to even be able to see his face again.

He just nodded a bit. "…I thought I might find you here."

She sniffed as she tried her best to contain her emotions, but was unable to, and she suddenly broke down into a sob as she ran over and embraced him. He put down the suitcase and embraced her back, starting to tear up a bit as well.

"...I… I-I… I didn't think I'd ever see you again…"

"...Me neither, young lady… but we need to have a talk…" He broke the hug. "…I've been… keeping an eye on the news… well… as much as I could, anyway…"

She just stared at him.

"...I thought you were dead for the longest time…"

She started sobbing more. "…I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

"Don't be… now's not the time for that... we have to leave the past in the past right now."

"...I… I did things… things you probably wouldn't like…"

He nodded, a bit somberly. "…I know you did…"

"...I let… everyone down… I… I let you down…"

He just nodded again. He didn't have any sort of argument to that, but didn't seem pissed, either.

"...Aren't you mad…?" She sobbed some more.

He shook his head. "…Everyone lets people down, sometimes, young lady… it's just in our nature…"

"Not like I did…"

"It doesn't matter…" He held up a hand. "…I'm not completely blind to what you're going through. I've gone through rough patches back in the war. I've done things I haven't been proud of. Things that made me lose sleep, even. I've had times where I wonder if I'm even a good person, or if I deserve the pedestal I'm put on. But I can tell you right now… after 130 years of living on this planet, none of that matters."

She stared at him, silently. She wasn't sobbing anymore, but tears were still coming out.

"...Sometimes we just can't help but fail. To let people down. But what matters after that, is if we can pick em' back up again. That's all any of us can do, you know? Make mistakes? Learn from them?"

She turned away a bit, walking back into the shack silently, still trying to absorb his words.

"...I've said it many times before, young lady. The reason I recruited you back in Octo Valley."

She knew the answer. She had already heard it a million times. But right now, she needed to hear it again.

"...You have _always_ had that spark in you." Cuttlefish continued. "That adventurous, brave, heroic spirit. And you've used it for the greater good so many times. But I've never, _ever,_ said you were perfect."

"...I don't… know if I can be that hero they need anymore…" She finally said, back still turned to him.

"...I know it doesn't feel like it. It rarely does. But you just said it, they _do_ need you."

She looked back slightly.

"...I think out of anyone in the whole Splatoon, you were always the one who was capable of taking down the Underdogs. It wasn't Agent 4, it wasn't Agent 8, I chose _you. _I took you on that mission because I believe in you. I still believe in you."

"...I can't take them on… I have no weapons… I get seizures now… I can't do anything…"

He gave her a knowing look, before he picked up the suitcase and stumbled up to her, silently handing it to her. "…You don't have to worry about that."

She looked down at the suitcase, but didn't take it. She felt too sick of herself to take another gift from him.

Cuttlefish noticed, but only kept his comforting voice. "…Just take it."

She stared at him for another moment, before she finally yet slowly took it.

He gave her a reassuring smile underneath his beard. "…I love you."

"...I love you, too…"

He nodded and wrapped his arms around her again, which she silently returned, before he soon broke off, tapping his cane against the ground. "Now… I have to go see if I can find my beautiful granddaughters before midnight."

She sniffed. "…Careful out there, traffic's a bitch..." She suddenly joked, a bit of the older Jessica coming out.

He chuckled in response, before he wobbled back to the grate, as Jessica looked back down at the suitcase. He turned back to her. "…You'll do good, young lady. I know you will. Even if you don't succeed… just know that we're all rooting for you. And we believe in you."

She didn't respond at first, but silently nodded.

He gave her a last reassuring smile, before he plopped back down into the grate, leaving Jessica alone.

She silently went back to the shack, and sat back down, feeling only a bit more calm. She looked at the suitcase, then back at the grate. What the hell could he possible have left her this time? Somewhat nervously, she unlocked it, and slowly opened it.

She gasped slightly, again tearing up as she was met with replacements for all her old, forgotten gear. Her Hero Outfit. The Hero Shot. Even the goggles she only ever got to use briefly. Cuttlefish had actually been holding onto this the whole damn time. He had never, ever, lost faith in her. But, most emotionally for her…

She reached in and used both hands to pull out the new Hero Cape, the proud _3_ symbol staring back at her. Her old, more brave expression slowly started to form on her face, and a warm feeling took her over. It was time for her to be the hero again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, guys! The story is just about over, and believe it or not, next up is the finale chapter. So, here's the plan. There are two chapters left, but like with how I handled the NSS:U finale, I'm going to be working on them back-to-back, and then uploading them at the same time. So, next time I see you, the story shall draw to a close, and I will have a final AN at the end of the last chapter so I can talk about what my next plans are. So, keep an eye out, and I'll see you all then! *waves*


	27. At the City's End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the finale, Jessica once again becomes Agent 3 for the final confrontation with the Underdogs and Daniel himself, as the city is edged toward destruction.

Jessica's shirt collapsed onto the ground as she quickly slipped on the black jacket that came with the Hero Suit, followed by the yellow safety vest itself, before she propped her feet up, one by one, to get the shoes on. She looked over her weapons and other equipment. A whole assortment of bombs and grenades, both ink-based and fire-based, her grapple hook, the remote to her old platform, and her Hero Shot, which she cocked.

She gave her weapons brief test runs on the nearby squid bumpers, which she took out with great accuracy and efficiency multiple times, while she used some trees in the area to test and swing around a bit on her grapple hook. Everything was working perfectly. Finally, she went back over to the suitcase to finish setting up, where she slipped on the Hero Headset, and pressed a button, causing the lights on both it and her shoes to light up in blue. Immediately afterward, she slipped on the Ammo Knights goggles, which briefly lit up in a green tint as it powered on.

Last but not least, she spun the cape around herself before she hooked it around her neck, and it lightly flowed behind her in the wind.

* * *

**One Hour From Detonation**

Inkopolis was still filled with fires, alarms, and the screams of the panicked, as the streets were filled with crowds and crowds of people, illuminated mostly by police car lights and nearby fires.

Unseen by everyone, Jessica was alone on top of a skyscraper as she overlooked the city, her cape flowing behind her while she scanned as much as she could with her goggles. She didn't have time to help out with smaller situations like she normally would; instead, her intentions were solely set on getting in touch with Johnson, before making her way to the address Vanessa gave her so that she could find Daniel.

On the goggles' 3D UI system, she scanned over the city until it located the address, and highlighted it from behind several far away buildings, while a map of Inkopolis with directions popped up in the corner of her vision. Now that she had that, it was time to locate the Sergeant.

"Give me the location of Sergeant Grant Johnson." She spoke to it.

Although it wasn't possible for the goggles to just scan the city and give a direct pinpoint location, it was able to gather all sorts of current, up-to-date information, including from records, news, and even police scanners, to eventually lead Jessica to the general ballpark vicinity of where he was, which it highlighted on the map. Having all that she needed, she transformed into her squid form, before she blasted off into a super jump in Johnson's general direction.

* * *

**Underdogs Hideout**

Just under one hour remained on the weapon's countdown, as it was still flashing its lights throughout the room.

Daniel was standing still, arms crossed as he watched as if he was mesmerized by it. His fingers and his eyelids were twitching a bit, as the voices continued to attack him from seemingly all sorts of directions.

_'Don't do this, Daniel.'_

_'Destroy the weapon.'_

_'You still have time.'_

_'Undo everything.'_

_'Shoot yourself.'_

_'Save Jessica.'_

_'Don't kill her.'_

_'What are you doing?"_

"We're one hour from detonation, sir." An Octoling interrupted, walking up to him.

He jumped a little as he was torn from his thoughts, and he turned to her, nodding. "…I know…" He cleared his throat. "…I want every available Underdog standing guard, in case someone shows up."

"No one has come so far."

"...The voices find a way…"

"What?"

"...N-Nothing… just… get everyone on guard, please."

She stared at him a bit before she nodded, and she motioned to other Octolings to follow her as she walked out.

Daniel continued staring at the nanotech weapon's lights for another few minutes, before he sighed, deciding to turn his attention to something else, as he turned around. He was about to leave the room, but instead jumped as someone was standing in front of him, blocking his path, while strangely cloaked in shadow. He sighed. "What are you still doing down here? I told everyone to stand guard. Go." He pointed.

"...But I've never left you before, have I, Daniel?" The familiar voice returned.

He froze, and the figure stepped out from the shadows, revealing to be the face of his long-gone mother.

"...Mom?"

"...Hello, sweetheart."

He just continued to stand there, silently, as he stared her down.

His mother looked around, surveying the room and the weapon. "…You've been pretty busy… haven't you? Still playing with toys, after all these years, are you? Adorable as always." She smiled. "…My sweet, little Daniel…"

He gripped his charger a bit. "…You're not real…"

"...How do you know?"

"Because you're dead. I killed you."

"...I've always been in your hearts, Daniel." She returned softly.

He suddenly pulled the charger out and fired at her, and she disappeared just as suddenly as she appeared.

"Now that wasn't very nice." The same voice said behind him. He spun around. "…I've told you not to play with weapons, Daniel."

"...Get out… of my head…"

"Put down the weapon."

"You're not real…" He shook his head and repeated himself. "Get out of my head…"

"Put the weapon down, Daniel… I won't ask you again."

They fell into silence for a moment. Daniel actually felt compelled to listen to her. His fingers loosened, and his charger dropped to the ground at his feet.

The hallucination smiled as he did. "Thank you…"

Daniel just stared at her, tearing up slightly. Thank god there was no one around to see him.

"…I missed you, sweetheart…" She said.

"...I-I missed you, too… but… I-I don't know why you're here now… of all times…"

"Because you're making a huge mistake, Daniel." Her gaze was serious. "You can still turn the weapon off and leave all of this behind."

"...No… I-I can't do that…"

"And why not?"

"...B-Because it's what Ward wanted me to do… h-he taught me that I have to show everyone how flawed they are…"

"Daniel, _you_ are the one who's flawed. More than anyone."

"...That's not true…"

"Look around you and look at yourself. Ward has twisted you. He's taken advantage of your mental illness and turned you into a weapon."

"...No, that's not true… he… he was my family… don't you understand that? The Underdogs are my family."

"...And we weren't?"

Daniel looked down slightly. Now, child Jessica was hiding behind Mrs. Murdock, as if she was hiding from Daniel himself. "…J-Jessica…?" He walked forward a bit.

The vision of Jessica ducked behind her mother, and by the time Daniel could walk around to find her, she had disappeared entirely.

"Leave Jessica out of this, hun." Mrs. Murdock continued. "She's not the enemy."

"...I am what I am because of her, though…" A tear fell down his cheek.

"...Maybe to an extent. But don't forget that Ward has twisted you worse than she ever did."

He didn't respond, and more tears were falling down his cheeks.

After a moment, she held out her hand. "…Come back to me, Daniel… leave the Underdogs behind… just take my hand… I'll help you turn off the machine…"

"...We can't turn it off… there's no way to…"

"...We can find a way." She gave him a reassuring smile.

He had to do it. He didn't want to be apart from her any longer. He wanted to listen to her. More tears falling, he slowly reached to take his hand, but instead jumped back as he heard a louder-than-realistic stabbing sound. His eyes widened.

Mrs. Murdock arched her back, starting to bleed profusely from her chest and her mouth, as she gagged for air. "…Daniel…"

"...Mom? MOM!?" He tried to lean forward to grab her, but she collapsed to the ground, revealing that Ayesha was standing behind her, holding the knife. He backed off again as he stared at her; her eyes were unrealistically large, and blue ink- his own ink color- was pouring from her mouth like a waterfall.

"You shouldn't get attached to her." Another familiar voice said from outside the room. He again turned to see that Hugh Ward was walking into the room, toward him. Again, he backed off. "…Don't forget… your mother has been dead your whole life."

"...You're dead, too…" Daniel replied.

"Perhaps… but at least I've had a role in your life. At least my memory still has purpose." He put his hands together behind his back. "…So don't take your focus off the mission, Executioner."

"...But I…" He tried to look back at his mother, but she had already disappeared, with the horrifying Ayesha vision standing where she used to be, grinning at him. "…I loved her…"

"...No. You murdered her. And don't forget why you did." Ward continued.

"...She was in my way…" He remembered.

"And she didn't believe in you, as I do."

"...You believe in me…" He stared at him, almost as if brainwashed. Tears were still flowing down his cheeks.

"We're your family, Daniel. Now all that's left for you is to take out the traitor who used to call herself family."

"...Jessica…" He looked down. "…I can't do it…"

"Oh, Executioner… don't talk like that…" He leaned toward his ear, whispering. "…You can do whatever you want…"

He jumped and backed up, but when he tried to look at him, he saw the hallucinations had finally disappeared. He looked around, breathing heavily.

* * *

**Meanwhile**

After their attempts to evacuate the city, Johnson and the rest of the police had gone back uptown, where the bulk of the people were, with the plan of huddling as many people as they could underground. Police sirens wailing, they drove through a crowd of people, before they came to a stop in the middle of the street. Johnson got out, holding a megaphone.

_"Everyone!" _He called out with it. _"This is the IPD! We need you all to calm down, so that we can get as many people as possible underground!"_

"Come on, people, let's move!" Other officers started to round people up, which Johnson soon went to assist.

Although it was a ludicrous task, partially because many people were too panicked to cooperate, they soon started to get people together, and started leading them into nearby buildings that had basements. Johnson was desperately looking around for more people when he heard something.

"Sergeant!" Jessica shouted, as she landed on the hood of his police car.

He jumped and reached for his gun, but didn't pull it out, seeing it was just Jessica in her full Agent 3 gear. "…Murdock?" He was actually relieved to see her again.

She stood up. "Getting those people underground is pointless, it won't be enough for them to escape the nano-spikes."

"Well, we still have to try our hardest! Evacuation is no longer an option!" He replied.

"I agree. We're taking the fight straight to Daniel. Shutting down the weapon is our last and only option."

"...You know where he is?"

"Vanessa did and she was kind enough to share. He's in a construction building in the center of the city. I know I'm not in the place to give orders, but I need you to follow me there and back me up. I can't guarantee I'll survive going in alone."

He stared up at her. "…We're on it. And screw being unable to give orders. You're in charge. At least for this."

She just nodded, before she turned back into her squid form and launched off in another super jump.

Johnson watched her take off, before he turned to the other officers. "Alright, people, we have our new objective! We're giving Agent 3 assistance, so let's move!" He climbed back into his car and turned back on the siren, before the other officers followed suit.

* * *

**Half an Hour from Detonation**

Using a combination of super jumps, her grapple hook, and acrobatic moves, Jessica made it to her destination quite a bit earlier than the police did, and perched herself up on the nearby building, towering above the building she needed to get to. She looked it over. It was indeed an incomplete skyscraper, and some of the upper floors didn't have walls yet. A helicopter was circling the building all the while, guarding it.

She pressed a button on her goggles, and it turned green again. "Scan the building."

The goggles got to work, giving her an infrared view of the building, while also scanning its layout to provide a map for her. Jessica came to a quick conclusion: it was lined to the brim with every available Underdog they had, with Octolings standing on every floor, while a massive heat signature for the nanotech weapon she needed to get to rested in the basement, on the very last floor. Even worse, there didn't seem to be an easy way in except for the upper floors, which meant that she had to break in near the top and make her way all the way down to the basement, with no time for stealth.

The odds didn't at all look to be in her favor, but she had no choice but to go in. Less than 30 minutes remained now, so she really had to move. Now. She took a moment to make sure everything was ready, including her bombs and especially her grapple hook, before she took off her goggles and stood up straight. She took a long, deep breath, with her eyes closed, as she gripped her grapple hook in one hand and a splat bomb in the other.

Finally, her eyes opened again, and without any more hesitation, she leaped from the building, sending herself into a free fall in the buildings direction. As soon as she as she was close enough to the highest floor, she fired her grapple hook at it with expert accuracy, just barely latching on, and fell a bit more as the rope tightened, taking her for a swing. She swung herself inward toward the building, throwing in the splat bomb before her into the last wall-less floor, as she flipped inside after it.

The closest Octolings that were standing guard on that floor were unable to do anything but notice the splat bomb, which quickly exploded in a larger-than-usual burst of orange ink, splatting anyone in its vicinity.

Jessica landed swiftly inside only after the explosion, and swiftly pulled out her Hero Shot, as other Octolings on the floor caught onto her presence.

"SHIT!"

"SHE'S HERE!" Octolings screamed.

As they all began closing in on her and firing at her, Jessica didn't bother taking cover for time reasons, and instead ran forward as she fired back, successfully splatting someone from a distance before she whacked someone else in the head with her gun.

* * *

As all of this was happening, Daniel was down in the basement, sitting somewhat cautiously in case any more hallucinations decided to show up, when static erupted from his radio. He jumped a bit, before he pressed the button to speak into it. "…What?"

More static. _"…A-Agent 3!"_

"...What…?" He repeated.

_"Agent 3! She's here!"_

His eyes widened a bit, and his breathing got heavier. The voices were starting to come back on full force, too. "…No, no no no no no… stop her…"

_"We're trying! But she's-"_

"KILL HER!" He suddenly shouted. "She can't get down to the basement!"

The line went dead, and he lowered the radio a bit, silently panicking.

* * *

A small army of Octolings from the very top floors were going down the stairwell to the floor where Jessica was, and barged the door open, pointing their guns at him. What they didn't expect, however, was that Jessica had thought ahead and had thrown an autobomb at the door the moment before, which had patiently waited for the door to open before it detonated, splatting them as well.

Jessica ignored the ink explosion, keeping her focus on the Octolings that were already on the floor, shooting at distant ones while beating on people who had managed to get closer. One specific Octoling that she knocked down landed at her feet, and she punched him a couple times, before bringing the gun to his face and pulling the trigger.

One Octoling took the opportunity to pull out a knife, thinking that she could surprise her, as she ran up and slashed at her. Of course, not even that could faze Jessica, as she suddenly swiftly did a dive-roll out of the way, although at the cost of dropping her own weapon. Turning back to the armed Octoling, she stood up and did a roundhouse kick in an instant to knock the knife out of her hand, but the girl simply responded by pulling out two more. She stepped forward and started slashing them at her to her best ability, but Jessica either dodged or blocked most of them, yet was unable to hold off a cut on her Hero Jacket and a nasty gash her cheek. She grunted, but was too desperate to stop, as the Octoling kept slashing at her.

She intercepted one swing midair and grabbed the knife from her hand, before swiftly slashing at her throat, without hesitation. The Octoling gagged and grabbed the wound, before Jessica swiped the second knife from her, slashed at her cheek as some kind of payback move, and kicked her away, leaving her to bleed out. Unable to catch a break, she then noticed a charger light come to center on her, followed by a shot of high-pressure ink, which she swiftly dodged. She jumped up onto some boxes and did a spin-jump back off, throwing the knife at an unlucky Octoling's forehead just before she landed and ducked behind them.

The number of Octolings on the floor was growing, too, as more Octolings came down the stairwell and began hunting her, shouting commands at each other. She sighed, and in her moment to breath, wiped some ink from her cheek before she turned behind her. A group that was trying to sneak up had lined up behind her in an honestly tactically stupid way, and she rolled her eyes slightly before she suddenly pulled back out her grapple hook. She fired it at the person in the back, stabbing her chest with it, before she pulled on her, sending her flying into the rest of the Octolings, knocking them down like bowling pins.

As the hook then slinked back to her, she then fired it at one of the lighter boxes behind them, before she pulled on it as hard as she could, grunting as she did. Using all her strength to hurl it over her head toward the remaining Octolings, she knocked one Octoling over the head with it, breaking his head open. He collapsed to the ground next to the box, forming a puddle of ink , before the box abruptly exploded in a somewhat small explosion, engulfing a few nearby Octolings and lighting them on fire.

At least now, a good number of Octolings were subtracted. Jessica climbed back onto the boxes, seeing that about five remained. She fired her grapple hook at another box beneath her feet, which she again tossed at them, successfully crushing one, before she dived off to avoid more gunfire. She threw her other knife at an Octoling, but missed the lethal areas that she was aiming for and instead hit her leg, causing her to scream out in pain. Dodging more gunfire, Jessica again dive-rolled to grab her discarded Hero Shot from the ground, which she immediately used to splat two nearby people, before she tossed a splat bomb at a third. He screamed before he was inevitable splatted by the resulting explosion.

The last remaining Octoling pulled the knife out of her leg, screaming out in more pain, before she limped over a bit and tried to throw it at her. Jessica ducked in her squid form to just barely dodge, before she briefly charged up a super jump, launching right into the Octoling's chest. She was immediately knocked back, flying right off the edge of the building, while Jessica did a backflip off of her and landed in a ducked position as she watched, panting slightly.

She looked at the time. Only twenty minutes remained now. She had to get down to the basement now, although the sounds of more Octolings on lower floors could subtly be heard from the direction of the stairwell. She sighed. She wasn't so sure that she was gonna make it in time.

She started walking toward the stairwell, when she was stopped by the louder sound of rotating helicopter blades, and she stopped to look as a light focused on her.

The helicopter that was guarding the building had flown up to her floor, as the passenger Octoling onboard aimed a powerful, lethal Spatling at her. _"Agent 3! Stand down!" _The pilot announced.

Jessica looked around, looking for a quick exit strategy.

_"Stand down, NOW!" _He repeated. _"Final warning!"_

Having one idea, Jessica pulled out one fire explosive from her belt, and in response, the Octoling with the Splatling immediately began firing at her. She did another dive roll to dodge, and kept running to avoid the stream of ink, looking back at the helicopter briefly. The Splatling quickly had her cornered, leaving her no choice but to dive off the side of the building. Airborne once again, she quickly turned and fired the grapple hook at the ceiling above her, before she let it unwind a bit and swung back toward the helicopter.

The Octoling caught on to where she had gone and tried to aim the Splatling at her again, but was unable to do much as Jessica tossed the explosive inside. "SHIT!"

Jessica was sent back into free fall mode as she winded the grapple hook back up, and she was gaining some attention from the citizens beneath. As soon as the hook came back to her, she fired it back at the building, fell some more as it unwinded, and then swung back inward, flying back inside through where a window should be.

It was only after she disappeared that her bomb went off, killing the Octolings onboard the helicopter.

* * *

At that moment, Sergeant Johnson and the other officers were driving up to the construction site, when the helicopter that Jessica had just blown up was spiraling out of control above their street, before crashing onto the roof of a nearby building. Barely even phased at that point, he hit the breaks, followed by the other cars, before he opened the door and stood up, looking at the chaos. "…Holy shit…"

The other officers got out, surrounded by flocks of screaming people. "…Murdock's here?"

"I believe so." He pulled out his gun as they approached the building. "…Murdock needs backup, and we're gonna give it! We have twenty minutes from detonation, so we-" He was interrupted as a gunshot sounded, hitting an officer next to him. He jumped, and backed up. A few Octolings on the first floor had already noticed the police and had come out to hold them off.

He ran back to hide behind his car and pulled his gun up, and the other surviving officers did the same. "Open fire!" He shouted, before they all began to fire back.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the basement, Daniel was sweating a bit and pacing around the glowing weapon, gripping his charger. He was trying his best to ignore the voices, but they were still on full attack.

_"The police are here." _The radio confirmed.

He stopped pacing to answer it. "Hold them off."

_"We're already on it."_

"...What about my sister?"

_"...Still alive and in the building. She took out our helicopter. We don't know what floor she's on."_

He sighed and looked around, shaking more. He thought about what the next move should be. "…Detonate everyone above the first floor."

_"...Sir? That would collapse the whole building if they expand too much."_

"...Shit…" He paused again as he thought about more about it. "…What about the suicide bombers?"

_"I don't recommend large-scale explosives, sir."_

The voices got louder, and he grabbed onto something as he rode out his panic attack. As he blinked, he noticed that a vision of a younger Jessica was once again appearing before him. He stopped and stared at her.

_"...Sir? Are you there?" _The Octoling continued.

"...Let her come."

_"...What?"_

"Tell everyone above the first floor to stand down…" He clarified. "Let her come… and I'll deal with her…"

_"...Sir, I also don't recommen-"_

"Just do it!" He shouted.

_"...Yes, sir." _She finished, before the line went dead.

He dropped the radio, and looked back at where the vision was standing, seeing she had disappeared. His eyelid twitching, he turned back to the weapon. Around fifteen minutes remained. This was going to be his ultimate end.

He was going to kill Jessica Murdock.

* * *

The building fell into an eerie silence as Jessica located and entered the stairwell, pointing her weapon inside before she cautiously entered. Even she had noticed the silence at this point, and looked around, an eyebrow raised. It was as if the Underdogs had suddenly given up. But she didn't have time to question it; only fifteen minutes remained and she had about half the buildings worth of stairs to climb down. Staying on guard as she made her way down, pointing her weapon in different directions, she hurried down, until she reached the very last floor, fairly deep into the basement.

Taking a deep breath, she kicked the door open and aimed her weapon before she entered, but to her surprise, it was… empty, at first glance. "…What the hell…?" She cautiously yet somewhat quickly navigated through the rooms, until she was drawn to the center room with the pulsating lights, and she slowed down a bit as she made her way to the source.

As she turned the corner, she was met with the weapon, in which the countdown listed only another ten minutes, and Daniel, who was leaning against the wall nearby, was waiting for her. He looked up at her.

She slowly inched her way inside, half-expecting to get blown up out of nowhere. "…Daniel…?"

"...Jessica…"

Without daring to take her gun off of him, she looked down at the weapon, seeing the complicated looking control scheme, before she looked back up at him. "…Tell me how to turn it off."

He stood up straight. "...It can't be turned off. Once the countdown's set, it can't be shut down. Why do you think it was so locked up?"

"Bullshit. You're lying. Just like you lied to me and the Splatoon before."

"...I'm not lying, sis." He shook his head a bit, before he scoffed slightly, looking like he was holding back tears. "…After all this time, you still think I'm the bad guy…"

"You think you're not!?" She hissed. "You're about to take millions of lives! Innocent lives!"

"They had it coming. Ward taught me that."

"Ward was a piece of shit and you know it. He manipulated your illness and took advantage of you. You wanna know what his last words to me were? He called you a loose cannon that he aimed at the city."

He shook his head, refusing to believe it. "No… no… Ward was my family… he was like my father…"

"...Only because you killed your real one…"

"...He had it coming too…" He couldn't stop himself from tearing up. "…All of you treated me like a stick that was about to break."

"Because you were sick."

"Yeah, and then you made me worse! All I wanted was a sister! A friend! But you shut me out whenever I came to you, you bullied me despite the fact that I was sick, and you left me afterward!"

"I didn't leave you! You got arrested because you burned our house down! We were forced on separate paths because of what _you _did!"

"You think I asked for this!?"

"Your actions imply it! Look around you, Daniel, all of this that's happening right now is your fault!"

He actually started crying, as he did look around a bit.

She was tearing up as well, but looked back down at the timer. Time was running out. "Dammit, Daniel, we don't have time for this, I need you to help me shut this down!"

"I told you it can't be shut down!" He cried.

"Then help me destroy it! I have explosives!"

He looked down at the weapon, having another panic attack. His trigger finger and eyelids were twitching.

"Look at me! Daniel, look at me! Ward doesn't have to twist you anymore, he's gone and he's not coming back! But I'm still here! I'm still here, you haven't killed me! You help me, and I will be your sister afterward! Ok? I can help you afterward, I promise, but we're not gonna make it to that point if you don't help me shut this down!"

"YOU'RE LYING!" He suddenly shouted. "You're always the one that's been lying, Jessica! You made me think as a kid that we could be friends, before you shut me out! You made me think that we'd be spending our lives together! That we could be heroes! Remember those conversations that we used to have!?"

Tears were streaming down Jessica's cheeks. What she had to do now really hurt, but they no longer had time to debate this. "…You're right… I failed you…"

Daniel stared back, and they fell into silence.

"...But now I have to fix it." She pulled the trigger on her Hero Shot, but to her dismay, it had magically shut off, just like what happened during the confrontation at the lab. She looked at it in confusion, before Daniel raised his charger and fired it at her. She barely dodged, dropping her gun as she leaped over the weapon to desperately fight him head on.

Daniel fired another lethal shot at her, but Jessica again dodged and knocked the gun from his hand, before shoving him into the wall and punching him a few times. He hit back with a strong blow to the stomach, knocking her back into the weapon, but she didn't waiver. In fact, she had never been more desperate, with how high the stakes were. She pulled out her grapple hook and fired it at him as well, but he dodged, and it instead pierced the wall.

Unfortunately for Jessica, Daniel was just as desperate, even if for more personal reasons. He grabbed on it and tugged on it hard, forcing Jessica to discard it, before he pulled out a knife. He stepped forward and slashed it at her, which she dodged like usual, before he slashed several more times. She dodged each one, and then kicked his arm to knock it out of his hand, before she punched him a few times. He blocked some of them with his arms and punched her back, before he managed to grab her, turn her around, and press her against the wall. He punched her more times, this time in the face, successfully stunning her. As she fell into a brief seizure, he grabbed her and tossed her back over the weapon, where she collapsed limply.

He reached over and grabbed his charger, picking it back up as he aimed it at her, but Jessica quickly recovered from her seizure, looked at him, and rolled out of the way to dodge the first shot. He fired more times, but Jessica performed a backwards somersault to get back on her feet, before she dived out of the room to avoid all of them. He groaned, angrily chasing her out.

The opportunity to manually shut down the weapon had seemingly been lost to her, so it was time for plan b. Reaching into her belt, she pulled out just one of many fiery explosives Cuttlefish had supplied her with, and without stopping to keep her distance from Daniel, she attached it to the wall.

* * *

**Five Minutes from Detonation**

Outside, more police backup arrived on the scene as more Octolings came out of the building, the gunfight getting larger and larger. The police definitely seemed to be on the losing side, and things only got worse for them when the Octolings suddenly brought out a large Killer Wail, aiming it at their cars.

Johnson's eyes widened a bit. "Retreat! RETREAT!"

The police scrambled away as the Killer Wail highlighted nearly the whole street, before it fired a blast at them, powerful enough to blow their cars away, destroying them. Johnson and most of them were able to jump out of the way, while some of the slower ones were fatally splatted by the stronger-than-usual blast, and it successfully split up the whole group. It didn't take the police long to get back to their feet, but now, their cover had been drastically reduced. Regardless, they didn't let themselves lose hope yet, and continued firing back.

* * *

Four minutes remained on the weapon's countdown, and the lights were pulsating a bit faster now, as if in warning.

Jessica was running and jumping around the few different levels of the basement, planting as many bombs around as she could. She was sweating and exhausted at this point, partially thanks to the seizure, but didn't stop. Another gunshot rang out as a lethal blast of ink narrowly missed her, and she looked down, seeing that Daniel was on the level below him.

"Come down, Jessica!"

She ignored him, and continued planting as many bombs as she could, continuing on. She only had a handful of bombs left, but once she planted them all, and as long as they were spread out enough, she would be able to decimate the entire basement and collapse the building, destroying the weapon with it.

"JESSICA!" Daniel shouted again, performing a super jump to get up to her level, before firing another shot at her. She jumped to dodge, before placing another bomb. She turned a corner and ran to place a couple more bombs on that level, before she jumped right back down. He ran over to where he saw her last and looked over the railing, yelling like an animal in absolute anger, before he jumped down after her.

Jessica nearly had all her bombs planted, and the last thing she needed to do was plant the last of them around the weapon itself, to ensure its destruction. She let herself fall back down to the lowest level, and went back into the central room, starting to plant bombs in there as well. At least, she tried to, before Daniel suddenly super jumped directly onto her, tackling her, and they collapsed into a roll together. With both of them down, Daniel crawled on top of her, beginning to beat on her.

Jessica tried to block the hits to her best ability, but he was too angry at this point, and he wrapped his strong hands around her throat, strangling her as hard as he could. She tried to gasp for air, but was completely unable to breathe, as Daniel gritted his teeth in pure rage.

* * *

Outside, the police were getting more and more backed up away from the building, as the Underdogs had their hold on them. They were losing more and more officers, but Johnson remained vigilant and strong, shooting at the Underdogs to their best ability. As soon as they had a moment to duck behind some civilian cars and refill ink, an officer briefly checked the time.

"...Three minutes!" He told Johnson.

Johnson looked at him, then looked down. Perhaps Jessica couldn't save them after all.

* * *

Mustering as much strength as possible, Jessica punched Daniel so hard that his grip loosened, and she punched him again, knocking him off. She gasped for air, as she struggled up to her feet. Daniel tried to land another punch on him, but she punched him again before he could, pinning him against the weapon. Furious, she landed a whole flurry of punches on him, screaming a bit herself, until his face was starting to swell and bleed. Just to hopefully put him out of commission, she kicked him in the crotch and tossed him aside, before she desperately reached into her pocket for the detonator. She had to blow the building as soon as possible.

However, Daniel did his best to ignore the pain, and suddenly lunged at her again, tackling her and knocking the detonator from her hands. After all, he had spent his whole life learning how to tolerate pain. He landed his own furious flurry of punches on her, punching her so hard that she did fall into another longer seizure, but even then, he didn't stop. He wanted to kill her so horribly. Orange ink coated his fists as he continued punching her, as her face was also swelling, as she meanwhile shook from her seizure.

It was time to end it. It was time to finally find closure for his life, for all the pain Jessica had sent him toward. Only if his sister was dead, could he die peacefully himself. Holding her down, he reached for his charger, aiming it at her face as she came down from her seizure. He panted heavily while they otherwise fell into silence, as Jessica stared back up at him, defeated. She choked up some ink. His trigger finger twitched heavily, but yet… he was struggling to actually pull it. His finger was twitching in the _opposite_ direction.

_'Kill her.'_

_'Don't kill her.'_

_'She's your sister.'_

_'Don't kill her.'_

_'Kill her."_

_'Don't make the same mistake.'_

_'Forget Ward.'_

_'Forget family.'_

_'You have your family.'_

"Shut up…" He shook his head and closed his eyes. "…Shut up…"

"...Daniel…" Jessica choked.

He opened his eyes again, and instead of the swollen face of present-day Jessica, he was met with the young, innocent face he knew from his childhood. From a time before anything bad had happened to them. And just like that… the voices had silenced. "…Jessica…?"

"...I'm sorry…" She choked some more.

He didn't respond, shaking and breathing heavily, tearing up some more.

"...Don't let… this control you…"

"...I-I can't…" A tear fell down from his eye, onto her face.

"...Please…" Jessica continued.

He started crying more, unable to contain himself. He couldn't kill his sister. He wanted to, but he just couldn't do it. And now that he thought about it, she was right. He was letting Ward, his mind, his past control him.

Jessica stared up at him, silently pleading for him to let go, and he finally refrained, gasping a little as he shakily let go.

She gasped for some air herself, and Daniel climbed off of her, collapsing next to her. As Jessica started struggling to her feet, he looked around, at the explosives and at the weapon. It seemed to be too late. They were going to die anyway. "…Jessica…?"

"I know…" She held out her hand.

He stared for another moment, before he took it, and she pulled him up. They looked around, and Jessica grabbed the detonator.

"...I need more time… I… I feel like there's too much I want to say…"

"...We still have a minute or so… I'll get you out of here…" She replied. After all, she didn't want him to die either.

"...You can't… we can't…" He blinked at her, and the vision of child Jessica faded, as he once again saw the face of present-day Jessica. In fact, the voices were coming back. "We still to have to…" He trailed off, as Jessica stared at him suspiciously.

_'You have to die.'_

_'You can't leave.'_

_'You have to die.'_

_'You have to kill her.'_

_'Don't let her leave.'_

_'You have to die to be reunited.'_

_'Don't let her leave.'_

_'You have to die.'_

_'You have to die.'_

_'Kill her, Daniel.'_

_'KILL EVERYONE, DANIEL!'_

As they stared at each other for another moment, Daniel questioning what he wanted next, he finally lost his ability to think. He suddenly aimed his charger at her face and pulled the trigger, filling the room with the blast sound.

However, Jessica had already foreseen the attack, and had grabbed his charger the split second he held it up, and the blast of ink instead hit the ceiling. Daniel gasped in surprise as he stared at her, eyes wide, while Jessica just looked unfazed and unamused at this point.

"...I really am sorry, Daniel… if I could make it up to you, I would… but we both know you lost your chance when you killed my god damn parents…"

"...Jessica, ple-" She then suddenly punched him with all her strength, and he fell limp, before she slung him over his shoulder. She looked at the countdown on the timer.

Only one minute remained. She looked down at the detonator in her hand, knowing what she had to do.

* * *

"Thirty seconds to detonation!" A police officer called out. They had managed to clean up a good portion of the Underdogs at this point, and the rest had begun to retreat, knowing that time was short now regardless.

"...Where's Murdock!?" Johnson called back.

"...We don't know."

They looked around at each other, and back at the building. Jessica wasn't coming out. It seemed it was just over. The whole city was going down, and they were going down with it, thanks to their failure. Johnson looked around, actually unable to believe it, and they fell into silence.

"...Twenty seconds."

"...It was an honor working with you, Johnson…" An officer decided to tell him.

"...As with you…" He replied, somberly.

As they stood around, some of the officers sitting down or kneeling, Johnson stood still, waiting for his death like a man.

"...Ten seconds… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… thre-"

They were interrupted as a fiery explosion suddenly burst from the building, large enough that it flooded out to the first floor and outside. They backed up in surprise, and they watched as the building's very foundation began to give out. It had just hit midnight, but that wasn't the explosion they were expecting.

Johnson didn't quite understand what was happening, but soon picked up on it, as it started visibly collapsing. "…MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!"

The police all stood up and ran away as the building started to cave in on itself, along with any Underdogs that were inside, finally ending the organization for good. As a wall of dust poured out onto the street, the police were forced to super jump out of the way, as the remainder of the building collapsed into a giant heap of metal, the remains of the nanotech weapon buried deep beneath it.

* * *

It took several minutes for the dust to clear, but when it did, the police, along with curious surviving civilians, slowly made their way up to the remains of the building, as they held their guns up just in case. A helicopter flew overhead, shining a spotlight over the wreckage. The city, otherwise, still stood, once again safe, and the chaos was already beginning to die down as everyone realized that midnight had already passed and they were all still alive. They had been saved.

Johnson lowered his weapon as they saw the threat had been neutralized, and they made their way up, looking over the rubble. As the relief fell over them, however, Johnson's stomach still felt like it dropped a bit as he came to a realization.

"...Murdock was in there, wasn't she?" An officer asked.

"...I think so…" He replied, and they again fell into silence. The person they had been hunting all this time, the supposed villain that they had tried to shut down, had turned out to be the hero that saved them all along, and seemingly just gave her life to do so. Perhaps all of it could've been avoided if they had made better decisions? Johnson looked down a bit, thinking about the mistakes he had made.

"...Sir?" An officer asked.

"...What?"

"...What do we do now?"

He thought about it, and was about to request a search party to look for Jessica's body, when they were interrupted as someone fell off the side of a nearby building, dangling from a rope near the ground. They looked over.

Daniel, who had been completely tied up, was dangling upside down from Jessica's grapple hook, as he struggled desperately and tried to scream, although his voice was muffled by some duct tape over his mouth. Johnson stared at him, confused, as his eyes went upward to the roof of the building above him.

Jessica was standing over them, covered in ash and dust, although her cape was still flowing proudly behind her.

"...Holy shit…" An officer muttered, as Johnson just stared in surprise.

While a couple officers went to grab Daniel, Jessica was just staring down at them, waiting patiently, as if waiting for Johnson to make a decision.

They stared at each other for several seconds, before an officer spoke up. "…Sir, she's not moving, we can get her. What are our orders?"

"...Let her go." Johnson replied simply.

"...You sure?"

"...She's not our enemy." He gave the vigilante a reassuring nod, which Jessica returned. The police all looked up at her, as she morphed into her squid form, and soon blasted off in a super jump.


	28. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the epilogue, everyone looks to the future.

Daniel barely struggled against his cuffs as two police officers escorted him down a dark hallway, occasionally passing by lights that illuminated his angry, grim, defeated expression. The voices in his head were on _full_ attack, screaming at him from all angles without shutting up, as he passed by some "demons" in the darker parts of the hallway, grinning at him. At this point, they resembled Ayesha's horrifying smile. Something that would now haunt him forever.

Sergeant Johnson was standing by what was now his cell, a solitary confinement room. "Well, well, well… look who it is… man of the hour. The one man who has created so much buzz these past few months."

Daniel stopped, staring at him, as the guards continued to hold him.

"...How does it feel? You killed your parents, tried to kill your sister, worshiped a terrorist organization, ruined the NSS, and then tried to tear down the city. Bet you wish now that you had just remained a good boy, huh?"

"...No…" Daniel admitted. "…I think my only regret now is that I didn't burn myself down with that house…"

"Oh, boohoo, the murderer finally feels regret. I hope it sticks, because you'll have plenty of time to sulk over it for the rest of your life. You're never going to see your sister again. Or anyone meaningful to you."

"...Won't I?"

"You absolutely won't."

"...One day, officer, you're going to regret not killing Jessica when you had the chance… and worse than that… you're going to regret not killing _me_…"

"...We'll see." He turned to the guards. "Lock him up."

Daniel continued to stare at him as the guards shoved him into his cell, and Johnson stared back all the way until the door closed. A buzz sounded and a light turned red as the door locked behind him.

He looked around at his new home a bit as he sat down. Now, he was faced with a fate worse than death: he was trapped, alone, with his own twisted mind, and all the horrors it could possibly throw at him. His eyelid twitched some more, as he angrily stared at the wall.

* * *

**A Week Later**

It took some time for the city to begin recovering from the traumatic events Daniel had unleashed, but now, things were starting to look brighter for Inkopolis, on a particularly sunny day where they finally had a cloudless, happy blue sky, the sun shining down.

Granted, things weren't going back to normal. They probably weren't ever going to go back to normal. Life in the city was a bit different now, whether people wanted it or not, but at least now, there was again some hope for a positive future. A future in which now, people looked up to the vigilante hero that had saved them as an actual hero, in spite of everything negative she had done. Teenagers and artists were painting murals and graffiti of Agent 3 on some walls throughout the city, their perspective on her finally changed. Word had definitely gotten around.

At the orphanage, the orphans were once again situated back home and happy, running throughout the halls and playing games with each other, just like Jessica and Vanessa used to do when they were younger.

Vanessa was in her room, still crippled when it came to her leg, and had been supplied with crutches to help her walk. She was laid back on her bed, seemingly in deep thought about what she was going to do next, as she browsed her phone, looking through articles online about Agent 3, which had also grown more positive.

Dana knocked a little on the door, and entered slowly, holding a tray of food. "Brought you some food. Since you won't come out and eat otherwise." She set it down on the nightstand.

"Thanks…" Vanessa replied, setting her phone down as she sat up.

Dana was able to get a glimpse of what she had been looking at. "…Thinking about her a lot?"

"...Feels like she's _all_ I can think about lately…"

"I know the feeling. Someone who has impacted your life so much that you just can't take your mind off of them. Like my old husband, for me."

"...It's different…"

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but at first, nothing came out, as she stood there silently for a few moments. "…I'm going to meet with Jessica today. I have a favor to do for her. You can come and talk with her."

"...I don't know if I should… I mean… I think we should… go our separate ways… she's clearly…" She looked back at the article. "…She has her own life again."

"...Doesn't mean that you can't be a part of it."

"I know what you're saying, but… it's like I said. We weren't meant to be." She leaned back. "…She made her own mistakes, and then I made mine… putting us together would be like setting a time bomb."

"...You've… made mistakes, yes. But I still think your intentions were good."

"...No… I was selfish… now, Susan is still dead, and I almost got the city destroyed…"

She sighed. "…Well… as much as we all do stupid things… I believe you still deserve happiness. So… come on down with me. You can talk to her. Find closure with her, if you must."

"...You just go…" She replied, curling up a bit without touching her food.

"...Alright. Just make sure you eat up, then. I want that tray to be empty by the time I get back." She went back to the door.

"...Ok…"

Dana gave her a last smile, before she headed out, closing the door.

Vanessa looked out the window, going back into deep thought.

* * *

**Later**

**Inkopolis Cemetery**

** _In Loving Memory_ **

** _Jessica Murdock_ **

** _Friend - Savior - Hero_ **

Those were the words that had been inscribed onto Jessica's tombstone some months ago, and it had been sitting still ever since. At least, until some men started to pull it out of the dirt, as they got to work with refilling the hole it had been placed in so that the cemetery wasn't wasting space.

Jessica herself and Dana stood by and watched, pretty silently, until Jessica spoke up. "…Thank you for this."

"No, it's no problem." Dana replied. "You have no idea how relieved I am to know that you're returning to your normal life."

"...Yeah, well, I don't know what else I'd do if I didn't. I guess, that's… one thing I realized, after hiding away for so long. Some things you find, you… just can't be whole without… I'm started to get it now, why you spent so much of your life helping orphans more than yourself."

"That's very true…" She replied. "…I'm glad that you finally realize it."

"...Took me too long."

"Yes, it did… but… the past is the past. Can't change it. All we can do is look to the future, try and mold it into the best future we can."

Jessica just nodded a bit, and watched as, soon, her former tombstone was taken away, replaced with a fresh patch of dirt.

"...I can give you a place to stay for a while if you need, or, I can help you find somewhere." Dana continued.

"You've done enough, Dana." She turned to her. "…Thank you."

"You're always welcome, Jessica." She extended her arms to embrace her into a hug, which she returned, before they broke off. "My offer still stands, regardless."

Jessica turned to look a couple yards away, noticing a couple familiar figures. "…I think I'm good on that front. You won't have to worry about me."

"If you say so." Dana nodded, before she turned and noticed them as well. "Well… I guess I'll leave you to it, then."

Jessica nodded at her, and Dana gave her a last smile, before she turned to leave. Jessica turned to Cap'n Cuttlefish and Bridgett, who had somehow known to find her here, and she smiled a bit as she walked up.

Teary-eyed, Bridgett suddenly ran up to her and threw herself into a hug with her, catching her off guard. Cuttlefish just stood idly by, smiling at them as he held his cane. He had already started practicing his normal hygiene practices again, and looked much better than he did while he was in prison.

Jessica returned the hug, before Bridgett broke off, wiping a tear. Jessica moved to hug Cuttlefish next, who gladly returned it.

"So, um… I hear you've been looking over the city again." Bridgett said as they broke up.

"I have." Jessica replied, turning to her.

"...You're here to stay, this time?"

"Unless I die, yeah. Like I just told Dana, I don't know what I'd do otherwise. At least Daniel's put away now, hopefully for good, so… I get a clean slate. I get to focus on all-new problems, now. Hopefully not quite as large-scale."

Bridgett nodded gratefully, smiling.

"...What about the rest of the Splatoon? What's up with them?"

"The Splatoon isn't really… an organization anymore. It probably won't be again." Cuttlefish told her. "But, your Sergeant friend has really lightened up to us. It took some persuasion, but I managed to convince them to end their house arrest early, so they should be getting out soon, and charges on us have all been dropped. All we have to worry about now is the police breathing down our neck from now on."

"...I think Johnson trusts us. As long as we don't do anything stupid."

"_Johnson_ trusts us. The rest of the IPD still seems shaky on the topic. Nothing we can do about that, honestly, it's gonna take some hard work to get anyone to truly trust us again."

"What happens if we get caught doing something they don't like?" Bridgett asked.

"More prison time. We'll need to be careful."

"...Yeah, well, I don't do careful." Jessica replied.

Cuttlefish couldn't help but chuckle a little. "…It's good to have you back, Agent 3."

She nodded in response, but at that moment, Jessica's new phone buzzed. She took it out to look at it. It was a phone that Johnson had supplied her with, and the officer had just sent her a text, instructing her to meet him on the station roof after sunset.

"...Speaking of police, I'd better get going soon." Jessica put her phone back in her pocket.

"Alright, young lady…" Cuttlefish replied, before he gave her another hug. She hugged him back, and they again broke off. "I'll be seeing you around."

"Yes you will."

He smiled underneath his beard, and turned to head off. Bridgett, meanwhile, was lingering where she was, looking as if she still had something she wanted to say.

Jessica turned to her. "…What's up?"

"...Just… where are you gonna be staying?"

"I'm looking for an apartment. In the meantime, I've been sleeping down in the bunker, but that's temporary."

"...Funny that you should say that, because… I've also been looking for an apartment. You know, like what I told you… before you left."

She raised an eyebrow. "Finally getting out of the house, huh?"

"Yeah… and now that you're back and all… maybe we can… find an apartment together? And that way… we can help each other?"

She thought about it for a moment, before she nodded a bit. "…Yeah, ok. Sounds possible."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Just give me some time to find somewhere, and we'll figure it out."

"Alright." She stared at her, before she also leaned in for another hug, which Jessica again returned. They held it for a good moment.

* * *

**The Orphanage**

As Dana returned home, passing by some kids in the foyer, the first thing she did was go back to check on Vanessa, to see if she had finished up her food like she asked. However, as she knocked on the door and slowly entered, she was met with a completely empty room instead.

In the hour that Dana had left, Vanessa had apparently finished eating, took care of the tray, tidied up her room, including the bed, and had packed up her short number of belongings, before leaving without a single trace. Not even her crutches remained.

Dana looked around, sighing. She had no idea where Vanessa would've gone, but she supposed that if Vanessa wanted to leave, that was her own choice. She just hoped that she would remain safe and healthy. With nothing left to do, she stepped back out, closing the door.

* * *

**That Night**

**Inkopolis Police Station**

Sergeant Johnson was waiting on the roof of the station building, patiently waiting for his meetup as it got dark out, a coffee in his hand as he tapped his foot and kept an eye on his watch. He was standing up there for several minutes, actually, but as more time passed, it looked more and more like Jessica wasn't going to show up. He looked around again, sighed, and was about to head back inside when he heard a voice call out to him.

"Commissioner Gordon much?"

He turned back to see Jessica land on the roof as she jumped onto it, once again wearing her complete Hero Outfit, cape included. She stood up straight as she walked over to him.

"...Gotta admit, I like the look." Johnson told her. "Shoes are a bit silly, but I did always think that you nail the whole caped vigilante look."

"It's Cuttlefish's design, not mine."

"Well, then tell him I said it." He sipped his coffee.

"Did you need something, Sergeant?"

"Not much." He leaned against the railing. "I just wanted to make a deal with you. I heard that you've already been becoming active in the city again since our supposed 'Judgement Day'."

"Well, crime's not gonna stop itself."

"Unfortunately true, but that's exactly why I called you here."

"You wanna yell at me over it?"

"Exact opposite, actually. I just wanted to tell you to keep doing what you're doing."

She raised an eyebrow a bit. "…You're already lucky enough to have kept your job the last time you let me go, you really wanna put your job on the line again?"

"It was never about my job. At the end of the day, I'm just trying to help out the city. Any way I can. Regardless of what Hertz or the other police think, I think you're a big help." He sipped his coffee again. "I'm going to be keeping a close eye on you and the Splatoon, don't get me wrong. I do still have to do my job, and like it or not, you guys are still on our radar. But from now on, I want to help. Even if secretly. I can help you track down criminals on our radar, and vice versa. It will be our own personal agreement, and I'm really hoping that you just keep it between us if you're in."

She thought about it. "…That does sound like it could help."

"It's the least I can do. The city owes you a great debt. A debt I can't fully repay."

"You won't have to worry about that. From here on out, I'm just here to help."

"I was kind of hoping you'd say that. Yet, still, I can't promise you that you won't get arrested if you get caught again."

"That's fine. It was always the risk anyway."

"...So, we have a deal, then?" He extended a hand.

She looked at it, before he took and shook it, nodding. "It's a deal."

Before Johnson could reply, his radio suddenly went off. _"We have an active shooter and robbery situation down on Inker Street…" _It started explaining the full situation.

Soon after, they could hear police sirens start up, as a couple police cars left the parking lot and began driving in that direction.

Johnson turned back to Jessica. "…Well, looks like there's already a job for you."

Jessica nodded and walked off, jumping up onto the railing as Johnson said one last thing.

"...Thank you for everything, Agent 3." He finished. "I look forward to working with you more."

She turned back to him briefly, and gave him a nod. "Just wait until the fun starts."

Johnson stood back and watched as Jessica launched off in a super jump in the direction of the police cars. She came to a landing on another roof, on which she rolled back to her feet and kept running, enjoying the feel of just being active again. Maintaining her speed, she flipped over some small building gaps, and even leaped over a billboard at one point. She soon came across an alleyway between two tall buildings, which she swiftly maneuvered, kicking off the bricks that formed the walls before she used her squid form to slip in an out of a fire escape. As she leaped out of the alleyway, turning the corner toward her destination, she used her grapple hook to swing off of the building and into action, her cape flowing behind her.

**The End**

* * *

It was a somewhat busy day at the Inkopolis airport; Following the recent events that had happened to the city, there were understandably many people that were growing too paranoid to live there at this point.

One particular Octoling was walking down to catch her plane in time, and had hidden herself in a full hoodie and sunglasses, her head down and hands in her pockets. She looked as if she didn't want anyone to see her skin, specifically.

Her walk was going normally, until a man accidentally bumped into her, knocking the glasses from her face. "Oh, I'm sorry, miss." He politely apologized, and made up for it by picking it up and handing it back to her.

"Thanks, babe." She reached forward and took it, revealing that her hand seemed... robotic.

He froze a bit when he saw it. The technology looked unlike anything he had seen before. And then he got a look at her face... Her skin was an unnatural shade of green, while her tentacles were blue with green tips. Even worse, her eyes were a horrifying shade of dark green, with blue pupils. His own eyes widened a bit as he backed off.

"Oh, don't be afraid, darling... it's just pain… and that's all we have…" Ayesha slipped her glasses back on and grinned at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright! This whole story has been almost a year in the making, longer if you include planning, and although I didn't intend for it to take so long, especially after NSS:U only took me a month, writer's block and some other stuff did get in the way. I wanna give a huge thank you to those of you who stuck this whole violent trip out and left reviews when you could. It makes me so happy whenever I get the emails, it really does, and it does really help with motivation. So, seriously, thank you.
> 
> Now... what happens next? Here's the thing, I actually have a lot of plans for this universe, and I just have so many notes stacked up because of brainstorming I did while writing this. As far as short term projects, I'm planning on going full-swing on NSS:OD soon, and yes, Jessica will be coming back as a main character. I have quite a few ideas for it right now that I'm getting eager to write so expect that soon. As far as other projects, I have ideas for some standalone one-shots that will help expand on this universe, and you may be seeing some familiar faces in them... As far as my next big project like this and NSS:U, though... I plan on having details for it on my profile soon, since I know what it is and I've been silently planning it for a while. So keep an eye out for that if you want.
> 
> Last thing. Before anyone asks, yes, I do have ideas for a direct sequel to this, again centered on Agent 3. But, assuming things go well, that will be a project I will tackle in the far future, yet I figured I could say now that the concept already exists and I have a pretty good idea of what's gonna happen in it.
> 
> Until then... make sure you all stay safe and healthy, and I shall hopefully see you again in NSS:OD. Bye! *waves*


End file.
